Top Gear is back... for Series 13!

Episode 1 starts off with a mouth-watering preview of forthcoming episodes. Among them an epic Bugatti Veyron vs McLaren F1, a deathmatch between the Audi R8 V10 & the Corvette ZR1, the Godzilla (GT-R), the Lamborghini LP670-4 SV and more caravan-truck racing! :)

The epic race in this first episode was from London King Cross's station to Edinburgh.

But there was a catch - they had to use vehicles from 60 years ago, in 1949. So it turned out to be a race between a Jaguar XK120 driven by May, Hammond on a motorbike - the Vincent Black Shadow & Clarkson on a train – the 60163 Tornado!

& like all Top Gear races, nothing was certain until the end but the car finally won it. It was a pretty thrilling race - James May for once wasn't complaining, being at home in 1949. Richard Hammond's constant problems with the Black Shadow has certainly diminished his love for bikes. But it was the wonderful scenery of Britain that topped it off! :)

The review of the day was the Lotus Evora. The producers ditched the Evora's Power Lap because of its 276HP engine & there was another much more powerful car to test...

The Ferrari FXX! The FXX is like a road-version of an F1 car - it actually has all the Ferrari F1 technology built-in (probably not KERS). With a weight of just 1155kg & an insane 800HP engine - that's like a rocket-powered bicycle!

Some say that he invented the curtain. And that he recently submitted a £20000 expenses claim for some gravel for his moat. All we know is… he’s called The Stig!

& when The Stig took it around the track, I certainly wasn't expecting the time to be so phenomenal - 1:10:7!! That's 7s faster than the previous top car - the Apollo Gumpert S! Incredible! :D

& then came the moment to unmask The Stig! Is it Susan Boyle!?

No, it's just Michael Schumacher. Although he's not the real Stig, I totally loved the stunt! The atmosphere in the Top Gear studio was electric! :P

Michael Schumacher became The Stig because only the owner of the FXX is allowed to drive it. & Top Gear viewers will have noticed he didn't drive as aggressively as The Stig on the track… or rather he did… :P 
The real Stig? Actually there are several Stigs for the different stunts, but only one Stig does all the races! ;)

Next episode will have a review of the Lamborghini Murciélago LP670-4 SuperVeloce & twitter celeb @stephenfry will be the guest for SIARPC. :D
Btw behind-the-scene extras for episode 1 can be found here or downloaded here.