Top Gear presenters, the Stig, James May, Richard Hammond and Jeremy Clarkson have a lot of fun smashing up other people’s cars. Do you ever wonder how many out-takes there are for every successful stunt? Or even worse, what the car insurance premiums must be for the show?! With Top Gear leaving our screens, we're here with some of our favourite clips. So here we are with the top 10 craziest Top Gear stunts of all time!
1. Top Gear Stunt Driving Team Formation Driving
Watch six stunt drivers cars manoeuvre their cars around an arena as they power drift and skid without once colliding even in such a small area. It’d be great to find a stunt driving school where they taught you this kind of driving. Although, we're not entirely sure that regular car insurance would cover this…
2. Top Gear Volvo Jumping Caravans Stunt
This stunt demonstrates two facts totally convincingly: how solid a Volvo 240 Estate is and how little strength any caravan has. Forget any notion that the car is going to clear the row of caravans because the stunt is designed to “fail.” The caravan destruction is awesome and the fact that the Volvo still looks driveable afterwards is truly impressive. If you want a car you can drive away from a car crash it has to be a Volvo. And they certainly don't tell you this before buying or renting a caravan…
3. Car Vs. Train at Level Crossing Stunt
If you ever thought about not stopping at a level crossing when the lights flash then watch this, because even a car with a 5 star safety rating won’t survive the impact. Watch the slow motion replay and see how the car is compressed to about 30 cm wide at the point of impact. Neither a seat belt nor a hi-vis jacket is going to help you to survive in this situation. The Top Gear crew are definitely braver than we are going through with this…
4. Top Gear Live Drifting Competition
Watch this to get some idea of what your car will do when it is driven by a professional stunt driver. Do bear in mind though that your tyres are not going to last long with this type of driving. Note: this kind of Top Gear driving does NOT appear on our list of Top Tips to Keep Your Wheels and Tyres Safe!
5. Top Gear Reliant Robin Race
Let all drivers of Reliant Robins beware, these fibre glass monstrosities are VERY dangerous and will roll over even when cornering at low speeds. Don’t try this at home, because you can see the extra roll cage and full seat harnesses fitted to these cars so our intrepid Top Gear presenters can walk away from the rollovers.
6. Top Gear Albanian Police Chase
Stunt driving on mountain roads with ordinary traffic? Yes, it’s crazy and scary having to cope with cars backing onto the road and a spilled load of oranges, but that’s the kind of driving we all have to do every day, just at slightly lower speeds. The Top Gear crew are probably better at this than most of us are though!
7. Ford Focus on Two Wheels
You’ve seen cars driven on two wheels before, but all round a track with bends? Incredible control here and lots of squeals from the excited female passenger.
8. Jet Car Destroys Nissan Sunny
We all know what Top Gear presenters think of cars like the Nissan Sunny. This clip shows the flaming exhaust from a jet engine powered dragster being used to destroy the Nissan totally. A handy feature if a hijacker is approaching your car from the rear, but in traffic around Durban you aren’t going to be very popular…
9. Top Gear Race – Bugatti Veyron Vs. Eurofighter
Amazing photography on this one as Top Gear presenter Hammond takes on a strike fighter. Not a straightforward point-to-point because that would be too easy. The Veyron does 1 mile horizontally, turns round and comes back to the start line, while the Eurofighter must do 1 mile vertically, then turn and come back to low level to pass the same start line. They start together on the runway with the car ahead for a few seconds then the plane accelerates past it and takes off. The finish is tight, watch the video to see the winner.
10. Top Gear Extreme Motorhome Racing
Motorhomes of all shapes and sizes start the race, but their aluminium bodies don’t have the structural strength needed for racing and soon parts start wobbling and falling off. It’s a real destruction derby and will certainly make you think twice before driving your motorhome at more than 60 km/hr!
Top Gear Stunts in Conclusion
If every driver had half the control of their vehicle as the Top Gear drivers do there’d be a lot fewer car accidents! These guys are total professionals. They concentrate on controlling their cars and not on texting while they are driving, in fact you never even see them with a cigarette or a cup of coffee while they are behind the wheel. Although it might be a bit scary to have car races on the streets during your morning commute…
Main Subject: Top Gear