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Forza 5's Top Gear content driven by The Stig's Digital Cousin
Top Gear's tame racing driver, The Stig, or rather his Digital Cousin, will feature as a CPU driver in Forza Motorsport 5, the BBC announced today. While details of Stig's involvement were slim, we do know that players will be able to race against it, and that it may even be beaten, unlike the real Stig. Hosts Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May are all in attendance as well (as we first learned during E3), though we know now that the three stooges will provide narration and commentary during the course of the game's career mode, which is segregated by "car genre." The announcement also confirms the return of Top Gear's Dunsfold Aerodome test track, which was showcased in Forza Motorsport 4.
All three Top Gear hosts involved in Forza Motorsport 5
Forza Motorsport 5 will, in some capacity, feature the hosts of BBC's spectacularly popular motoring show Top Gear, Turn 10 design lead Bill Giese said during a walkthrough of the game's modes during E3. Jeremy Clarkson, who lent his voice to Forza 4's Autovista mode, will be joined by co-hosts Richard Hammond and James May, though their exact role in the new game is still nebulous. "I can tell you all three hosts are involved, they're going to give us some awesome structure in how we present our career to players," Giese said. "We'll be announcing a little bit more about that this summer, but we're super excited to have all three hosts this time."
English Court: Top Gear didn't libel Tesla
BBC's Top Gear (it's like The Engadget Show, but for cars) did not libel Tesla Motors when it reviewed the Tesla Roadster way back in 2008. Jeremy Clarkson's review showed the super-EV conking out after 55 miles of driving (a quarter of its expected range), suffering brake failures and an engine overheat that Elon Musk's company flatly denies ever happening. In the High Court, however, Mr Justice Tugendhat said that people could tell the difference between Clarkson's torturous, heavy-footed "powerrrrrrrrr" driving that goes on at Dunsfold Aerodrome, and the staid manner in which people drive on motorways. Tesla still maintains that the review has damaged its image, which is why it's also pursuing a claim for malicious falsehood, yet to be decided -- and on that bombshell, here's the original, legally non-libelous review for your enjoyment... goodnight!
Top Gear team builds EV, shows how complex car production really is
The presenters of Top Gear, among the finer specimens of British television talent (Dr. Gregory House being another), were this past week engaged in designing and building an electric vehicle purportedly intended to compete with the likes of the Chevy Volt. Set a time limit of a mere 18 hours, they produced the marvel of rushed engineering and shoddy workmanship you see above. The Hammerhead Eagle i-Thrust (believe us, you'll have no reason to remember the name) was even put through its paces by Autocar magazine, whose video "review" can be found after the break. We won't spoil the details for you, but if you want a conclusion, this one's pretty unequivocal: "there's a really good chance you could kill yourself" riding in this car.
BBC confirms Top Gear is filming this season in HD
We've been wondering for some time when the regular edition of Top Gear (the Polar Special was a glorious, yet singular, event) would make its debut in high definition, and today the BBC Internet Blog confirmed this is the year. Set to debut November 15th, we'll finally be able to see the Stig -- whoever he is -- put some of the world's most exclusive cars through their paces in great quality. Whether that news has you checking the channel lineup for BBC America HD or bookmarking a torrent site we can all agree this is a fine day indeed.[Via Digital Spy]
