Top Gear (series 10)
| Top Gear (series 10) | |
|---|---|
Promotional poster
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| Starring | |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| No. of episodes | 10 |
| Release | |
| Original network | BBC Two |
| Original release | 7 October – 23 December 2007 |
| Series chronology | |
The tenth series of Top Gear was aired during 2007 and consisted of 10 episodes, beginning on 7 October and concluding on 23 December. It was subsequently followed by four "Best Of Top Gear" specials during January 2008, and a Sport Relief special entitled "Top Ground Gear Force" that aired on 14 March 2008.
During the premiere episode of the series, the presenters of Top Gear claimed that, between the filming of the ninth and tenth series, rival motoring magazine show Fifth Gear had broken into their premises and burnt down all their props. Prior to the episode being aired, a fire occurred on 12 August 2007 at Hill End Farm, destroying a barn being used as a storage facility for Top Gear props. This was evidently shown to be the case on the episode, as the Cool Wall and all the cars' photos for it had been destroyed, while the car seats the hosts used on the centre stage for the 'News' segments and for interviewing the celebrities during the 'Star in a Reasonably Priced Car' segments on the centre stage of the studio, along with the flat screen monitor, had been replaced with wingback chairs and an old TV. It was later revealed that the incident had been a publicity stunt dreamt up between Clarkson and Vicki Butler-Henderson, who were old friends.
The presenters are on another road trip, this time travelling across Botswana and the spine of Africa, to prove to the people of Surrey, in three used cars bought within the continent on a budget of £1,500, that they don't need four-wheel drive cars to drive up leafy lanes. May, being sensible, chooses a 1985 Mercedes-Benz 230E, a car favoured and loved by Africans (at the time), while Clarkson decides on a 1981 Lancia Beta Coupe because of Lancia's history with rally racing, and Hammond buys a 1963 Opel Kadett which he slowly falls in love with. On their journey from Botswana's border with Zimbabwe to its northern border with Namibia, the presenters face a series of challenges, including getting across the Makgadikgadi Pan by stripping and lightening their cars, seeing how fast each is on a specially made rally circuit, forging a path over the Kalahari to reach Maun for fuel, and animal-proofing their cars before they cross the Okavango Delta, all while being hunted down by a Volkswagen Beetle, a car that all three hate and which is to be their back-up should any presenter's car fail to start, which proves a worry for Clarkson.
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