Season 19 starts the week or so after Model S starts shipping. EDIT: Looks like Clarkson has postponed Season 19 until Jan 2013: Next Season of Delayed Until January Confirms Jeremy Clarkson Via Twitter - WOT on Motor Trend EDIT2: First 2 episodes are filming now sooooo: It’s Official: Top Gear UK starts filming Season 19 While the Roadster review wasn't very fair or balanced, I wonder what they'll say about the Model S? I posted this last year to the Tesla forums and I still believe it to be true: Top Gear and Model S | Forums | Tesla Motors What I like about Top Gear and what I like about Model S have nearly no overlap. This is the same Venn diagram of cars Jeremy likes and V4's. But, I want neither to change or compromise for what they believe in for they are both great and wonderful things. With that being said I do hope the Model S review goes better than the Roadster review. I hope they pit it against the 4 door Panamera, BMW whatever, Merc whatever, Audi whatever and let the chips fall where they may. How will it all go? My prediction: Jeremy will fall in love with the Model S when he sees it, sits in it, drives it through Gambon and Hammerhead and speeds off the line with the other 4 doors in it's wake. He'll most certainly mention distance to empty and be pleased. But charging will still be an issue he'll note. He'll mention the cargo space and rear leg room, while chuckling at the rear facing seats. And there will be a joke about the door handles, the big dash screen and sum it all up with another "I'm too dumb to email" joke. Stig will push it through it's paces and it will fall ahead of all other 4 doors including the Karma; If Fisker sends them one. Maybe James will get a word in about the environment? Maybe Richard will race it against an electric superbike? Whatever they do I hope it's creative, funny and entertaining without being too negatively pre-scripted, shortsighted and naive
Season 19 starts January 2013. (They skip a season because of the Olympics.) I'm not sure if the Model S has started shipping in Europe by then. It is possible they will be able to get their hands on a review model or something. If they get their hands on a Model S in Britain, I would expect Top Gear to need to meet a few requirements from Tesla, and then bitch about this incessantly. Like "We weren't allowed to drive the car through a river, so instead we had to settle for driving it around our track." If they didn't have their hands tied in any way, I would expect them to focus on the range, along the lines of "This car is supposed to have a 300 mile range, so we set out to test this claim, by driving from London to Paris, a distance of 250 miles". Then they drive the car to Paris, get there, and drive aimlessly through the streets to run the battery down, while complaining about the size of the car, etc. They'll also complain about the price. Conclusion: This expensive huge american car might be suitable for irresponsible rich americans, but here in Europe, it just doesn't work. Hydrogen is the future, blah blah blah.
I really just don't think that Tesla's going to let them test one. I just don't see what Tesla could gain by it and they give Top Gear the opportunity to bash the make or break product for Tesla Motors. I like Top Gear, but they just don't get the idea of the EV. One option that I see that MIGHT happen is that TG will send someone to the US to drive a Model S around the US like they did in the last series with the Karma.
It'll be reviewed for season 20. I can see it going either way since their reviews are really just personal opinion pieces. If the reviewer for some reason really loves the car it will get a thumbs up with the other two making fun of the reviewer. Or, they just trash the car and put it in the worst light possible. Or they might just drive the car into a lake to see if it shorts out. No matter what, they will hate the 17" screen.
If my car was to be on Top Gear I would ask to see the script first. BP might not want to let them see it.
Still waiting for the Hydrogen future that May was all over. Oh wait. Honda is buying credits from Tesla.
No, I think they'll be divided when it comes to the 17" screen. They will complain about the lack of tactile buttons, but they will also say that the size is a lot more user-friendly than the tiny screens you get on most cars. I think they'll like the layout as well, from what I've seen of it. The problem with the 17" screen is that it is located in an electric car.
Tesla has mentioned in one of their recent quarterly earnings reports that Top Gear's negative review of the Roadster (and the subsequent lawsuit) did adversely affect Roadster sales in the UK. So, I doubt if Tesla would let the three musketeers at the Model S. I used to enjoy Top Gear once upon a time. Now, the show's become a sorry shadow of its former self with the three 'clowns' doing crazy stuff and stunts seemingly just for sensationalism and to boost probably flagging ratings. Proper car reviews are few and far in between. So... I couldn't care less if they get into a Model S or not.
I've only seen one episode of TopGear UK and it was so ridiculously skewed in the favor of the intended outcome that I vowed to never watch it again, but I find the US adaptation to be funny and entertaining. Do you think the US show would be given the chance to do a review of the car? They've been renewed for the third season on History.
They had a decent review of the Fisker Karma a few months back, and it won an award from Top Gear as well.
They are self-proclaimed petrol heads (emphasis on "petrol"), but also speed freaks. I don't think they will be able resist the temptation of putting up the performance model in a drag race against some BMW or something. As for getting a car, no I don't think TM will let them use one, but I don't think that'll stop them either. A few years back they did a US road trip special driving from San Francisco to the Salt Flats speed festival. Chrysler refused to lend Hammond a Dodge Challenger because of something they had said/done in a previous episode. That delayed them for all of a few hours while they went out and bought one from a dealer instead. These guys have a sick budget... Not that I think they'll be able to buy an S, but definitely pay someone enough that they get to torment it on a track for a while.
There was also the episode where Bentley pulled out at the last minute, so they got some old Jeep looking thing and called it "the Bentley" for the whole show. It was the one where they were trying to decide what the best car for a mob boss would be.
Those slime balls could offer me $100K and I would not let them touch my car! Besides, with the court case still pending, I think their lawyers would have a cow if they tried anything funny!