The 10 Best Features In The History Of 'New' Top Gear

If there’s one thing Top Gear has always done well, it’s grand, glossy features. I’ve always thought the show is at its best during the epic races and the big roadtrips - particularly the ones incorporating some of Europe’s most stunning scenery - not to mention all the glorious wall-to-wall supercar coverage.

With the rest of the 22nd Top Gear series postponed due to Jeremy Clarkson’s suspension, the future of the show looks uncertain. Even if it does come back (perhaps on a different channel, what with the trio’s BBC contracts being at an end), there’ll probably be some time to wait. With that in mind, we’re taking a look back at our favourite in-episode features (leaving the one-off specials to one side for now) since the show’s rebirth in 2002.

From the frantic drive around the Arc de Triomphe (something fellow CT staffer Darren can now sympathise with) to the stunning final destination of the Millau Bridge in southern France, this road trip from Series 7 features some epic moments. If you ever get a chance, make sure you visit that bridge - even if you don’t have a supercar to drive there.

The episode before the Millau trip featured more brilliant southern French scenery; Verdon Gorge this time around. To find out if the then-new Audi RS4 was good enough to battle the BMW M3, Jeremy raced a pair of speed climbers. Obviously.

Yet more evidence that TG puts together brilliant European road trip films can be found in this Series 10 effort. With a Lamborghini Gallardo Superleggera, Porsche 911 GT3 and an un-air-conditioned Aston Martin Vantage N24 at their disposal, the trio went in search of the best driving road in the world, eventually arriving at the Stelvio Pass. Admit it, you’ve wanted to try that road ever since, haven’t you?

With such a colossal amount of power, what do you put the Bugatti Veyron up against? Top Gear’s answer was a Euro Fighter.

A perhaps more relevant race for the Veyron came in Series 13, when Richard pitted the W16 Bugatti against a former ‘Fastest Car In The World’, the legendary McLaren F1. Seeing these two greats together was a very special moment indeed. Oh, and the McLaren belonged to none other than Rowan Atkinson.

Yep, we’re sticking in a third Veyron feature, and we’re not even sorry. Top Gear’s brilliant supercar vs ‘random mode of transport’ races have always been brilliant to watch, but this one - in which the Veyron took on a Cessna 182 light plane piloted by James May - is arguably the best of the lot.

While we’re on the subject of these races, the first came in Series 4, featuring an Aston Martin DB9 driven by Clarkson, racing to reach Monte Carlo ahead of Richard and James - who were using trains.

The idea of taking a super-rare Alfa Romeo 8C, binning its best feature - the beautiful bodywork - and replacing it with something else seems mad on the face of it, but this wonderfully shot and edited piece proved that it’s not such a bad idea after all.

What better way to convince three sceptical Brits that ‘Murican cars can be brilliant, than to send them on a big road trip? The fact that this particular journey ended at the Bonneville Salt Flats - somewhere petrolheads the world over would kill to visit - made it one of the best road trips films TG has ever put together.

Our last entry combines TG’s ability to put together stunning car films with its knack for making light of controversies. The trio raced a Lexus LFA, Dodge Viper and Aston Martin Vanquish to the Mexican border, where the loser would have to cross over into the country to test the Mastretta MXT; a car the presenters had ridiculed - along with Mexico instelf - in an earlier episode.

Which other features would you add to the list? Let us know in the comments!