Top Gear Shoots In China

Tycho de Feyter
by Tycho de Feyter

Chinese media are going wild because BBC’s Top Gear has landed in China. Jeremy Clarkson and James May arrived in Beijing for filming a new Top Gear episode which will be on TV in next year’s season. Judging from the pictures take on-scene, the shoot seems to center on two topics, and both may make the Chinese car industry lose the ever so important face.

The first episode appears to be May in a JAC Binyue and/against Jeremy in a Greatwall Haval M2.

The second item seems to be about copied Chinese cars. There is a Shuanghuan Noble (Smart), a Shuanghuan SCO (BMW X5) and a Lifan 320 (Mini). On some other pictures Clarkson and May are looking curiously at an old Chinese 3-wheeler. Top Gear always had a thing for 3-wheelers. Possibly, they will blame China for copying a Reliant Robin

A Land Rover Discovery camera-car has Shanghai-plates on it. And the press caught the Top Gear protagonists indulging in that great Chinese pastime: Smoking.

Lifan 320. Note Mini scale model on the roof. May having a smoke.

Clarkson having a smoke.

Shanghuan SEO on the left.

Guangzhou Auto Trumpchi, there seems to be a camera behind the window, not sure whether it is part of the show.

Shanghuan SEO.

Old Chinese 3-wheeler.

May takes a look at the engine.

Clarkson in Greatwall Haval S2.

Land Rover Discovery camera-car with Shanghai plates.

Tycho de Feyter
Tycho de Feyter

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  • MadHungarian MadHungarian on Dec 06, 2011

    A three wheeler with opera windows in the B-pillars, just like a '77 T-Bird. Wow.

  • Junebug Junebug on Dec 06, 2011

    You know, I'd like to just be the guy that films or drives the support truck for that show. What a cool thing, exotic locations, goofy fun, and getting paid for it.

  • TCowner Need to have 77-79 Lincoln Town Car sideways thermometer speedo!
  • Kjhkjlhkjhkljh kljhjkhjklhkjh I'd rather they have the old sweep gauges, the hhuuggee left to right speedometer from the 40's and 50's where the needle went from lefty to right like in my 1969 Nova
  • Buickman I like it!
  • JMII Hyundai Santa Cruz, which doesn't do "truck" things as well as the Maverick does.How so? I see this repeated often with no reference to exactly what it does better.As a Santa Cruz owner the only things the Mav does better is price on lower trims and fuel economy with the hybrid. The Mav's bed is a bit bigger but only when the SC has the roll-top bed cover, without this they are the same size. The Mav has an off road package and a towing package the SC lacks but these are just some parts differences. And even with the tow package the Hyundai is rated to tow 1,000lbs more then the Ford. The SC now has XRT trim that beefs up the looks if your into the off-roader vibe. As both vehicles are soft-roaders neither are rock crawling just because of some extra bits Ford tacked on.I'm still loving my SC (at 9k in mileage). I don't see any advantages to the Ford when you are looking at the medium to top end trims of both vehicles. If you want to save money and gas then the Ford becomes the right choice. You will get a cheaper interior but many are fine with this, especially if don't like the all touch controls on the SC. However this has been changed in the '25 models in which buttons and knobs have returned.
  • Analoggrotto I'd feel proper silly staring at an LCD pretending to be real gauges.
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