http://driving.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,12529-2101920,00.html
"First of all, it is exactly one million times better looking than a BMW 3-series. And with those triple headlamps, and perfect proportions, at least half a million times better looking than any rivals from Audi, Mercedes or Jaguar."
Also on the old GTV6:
"The styling. And the howl from its V6 engine. In a tunnel, at 4000rpm, it was more sonorous than any music. It was like having your soul licked by angels."
Can the man cr*p on though!
Clarkson and Tiff Needell are the best motoring journos in the world - why can't an Aust car show be more like Top Gear and 5th Gear. Oh I nearly forgot - the best motoring journo in the world is Vicki Butler-Henderson - a girl who can drive and is a hottie in her own english way.
Hang on Scott - are you the STIG???
Quote from: Scott Farquharson on June 16, 2006, 11:15:45 PM
Clarkson and Tiff Needell are the best motoring journos in the world - why can't an Aust car show be more like Top Gear and 5th Gear. Oh I nearly forgot - the best motoring journo in the world is Vicki Butler-Henderson - a girl who can drive and is a hottie in her own english way.
Have to agree regarding Vicki ! Clarkson is good but i prefer to see Vicki !
It is a lifelong ambition to become "THE STIG" - best job in the world.
I heard a rumour that "The Stig" is Alonso......They did have "The Stig" drive the Renault on one occasion.
Pretty sure I know who The Stig is if anyone's interested? Not sure about posting it though, don't wanna ruin anyone's suspense... Hint, he has raced Formula 1
I've heard a pretty definitive and reliable answer on who the Stigs were - there were two Stigs (white stig and black stig) who were different drivers. Neither of them were exactly household names.
Damon Hill was never the Stig, despite common opinion.
OK...I need to know ???.....I have a bet on with my brother-in-law over who it is. Perhaps if you dont want to post it, send me a message. :)
Nah - just tell us - I want to know! I had heard it was Alonso.
Check out this video of The Stig crashing a Koenigsegg supercar through a tyre wall on the test track - the first time he's ever been shown to lose a car. Apparently Koenigsegg admitted a design flaw and sent the car back to Sweden to fit a rear wing to generate more downforce...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PFRGF696lH8
The original black Stig was Perry McCarthy, the newer white Stig is Julian Bailey to the best of my knowledge. Both former F1 drivers. You can debate this answer as you wish... I have no concrete evidence - McCarthy laid claim in an autobiography I believe, and Bailey was uncovered by a british tabloid and it was not refuted.
Yep the black Stig was McCarthy, I have some concrete, or maybe cement sheet, evidence somewhere in my magazine collection..... Wasn't even aware there was a new Stig. McCarthy's is an interesting story. Proof that if you try hard enough you can achieve anything you want. Even driving in F1
Quote from: Evan Bottcher on June 23, 2006, 01:01:05 PM
The original black Stig was Perry McCarthy, the newer white Stig is Julian Bailey to the best of my knowledge. Both former F1 drivers. You can debate this answer as you wish... I have no concrete evidence - McCarthy laid claim in an autobiography I believe, and Bailey was uncovered by a british tabloid and it was not refuted.
Yes, according to Wikipedia, the original black Stig was Perry McCarthy and the white Stig is (usually) Julian Bailey ...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Stig (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Stig)
Other "guest" Stigs include Heikki Kovalainen (the Renault F1 test driver) and Dan Lang (a Swedish snowmobile cross driver)!
And here's the sequel to the previous video of the Koenigsegg CCX, in which the Stig sets the Top Gear lap record ...
http://www.koenigsegg.com/movies/koenigsegg_topgear.wmv (http://www.koenigsegg.com/movies/koenigsegg_topgear.wmv)
Currently doing the rounds on the net...however it is pretty unlikley
Top Gear: The Stig revealed?
Fans of Top Gear will know The Stig, the anonymous driver who races in the cult auto show's "Star in a Reasonably Priced Car" segment... but no one knows exactly who The Stig is. He's always seen in a racing suit and helmet that hides his entire body, he never speaks, and his true identity has never been revealed.
Or has it?
In an interview with British lad rag Nuts, Comedian Omid Djalili claimed The Stig is none other than English racing car driver Lewis Hamilton.
"When I was on Top Gear around two years ago, I asked the The Stig how old he was," Djalili told Nuts. "He said, 'I'm 21' - the same age Lewis Hamilton would've been two years ago."
"When I asked the producers who The Stig is, they said, 'All you need to know is that, in about two years' time you'll hear a lot about the person who plays him'," the comedian continued. "They'll deny it of course because they're sworn to secrecy. I think it's part of the contract. But I'm telling you, it's Lewis Hamilton!"
It could be a possiblity that the stig is Lewis Hamilton but i very much doubt it. My reaons for this are that for one Ron Dennis, Mclaren's team principal and CEO,would never allow his driver's to take such risks outside driving a formula 1 car. Remember the frustration of not having Juan Pablo Montoya for a few races due to injuries he sustained in tennis game or as suspected a motorcross accident a couple of years ago? Therefore, Ron Dennis would not take such a risk this time. Also how does a formula one driver have the time to test road cars when he will mostly be racing, testing, debriefing or counting their millions in the grand palaces in switzerland? With reference to the comments in an interview two years ago that the stig was 21 years old and british, well it is only coincidence that it coincides with lewis' age. There have been some many promising talents in the making that were supposed to be big stars but never made it such as our own James Courtney, a former Jaguar formula one test driver and Ryan Briscoe a former toyota test driver. In my opinion, the stig would need to be someone who is lesser known, relatively cheap to employ and as once said by Jeremy Clarkson when they drove the 147 gta, Expendable! Clearly Alonso or hamilton would not be cheap and would not consider themselves expended.
By the way i hope Lewis does real shit this year. I would love to see alonso beat lewis and mclaren. I guarantee you that he lacks no motivation to do so. But Kimi and felipe together with those cars from maranello are the best and hopefully do it again this year.
Lewis is just another cry baby! So what if he was treated to racist remarks. Whenever Michael Schumacher and Ferrari went to england to race they were always abused by the public but they didn't have a cry to the FIA, They did what they do best, WIN. And that is the best way to get back at your oponents. It is always the silent achievers that you need to watch and this was proven last year when kimi put his head down and won the championship in the last race.
No one likes a whinger, so lewis i definately don't like you.
what the???
I think his line towards the front part of the article,... "I've loved all Alfas. In fact I've argued time and again that nobody can be a petrolhead until they've owned one. It's a rite of passage..." ... pretty well sums up the spirit of Alfisti, being on my third fourth Alfa Romeo (currently a 156 GTA and 159, previously a 156 V6 6 speed and first a 156 twin spark) I came to this conclusion a little later than most.
Cheers and God bless,
Magnum
Hey if you think Clarkson can Cr@##$p on you should try reading his books. He actually is a excellent read, even if on Topgear at times he comes across as an overbearing knob !! Actually I love the program, even if they do some stupid things at times. Perhaps Scott should try his hand out for Aussie Stig, given they have announced the presenters. Oh bugger, only problem is that we would all know who the Stig was. Cheers Dave