What are some unsolved Top Gear & Grand Tour mysteries/questions you wish you had the answers to?

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realsushiseller@reddit

what happens in the top gear studio when theres a special with the people

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michaelloda9@reddit

What was the original scrapped ending of Seamen

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RR33MM11@reddit

There is an original scrapped ending of Seamen ??

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michaelloda9@reddit

Yes because of that storm at the end they were forced to abandon their original mysterious and apparently very expensive plans

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RnBrie@reddit

Got a source or anything i could read about it?

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michaelloda9@reddit

Just some articles or interviews that I remember reading about, I’d have to dig them up

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SirLostit@reddit

Please do. It would be a cool read if you can find them.

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Pretty late, but here ya go: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yGBtoUt7Q9g&t=80s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yGBtoUt7Q9g&t=80s) ( Note that he talks about it being the first episode of the new series where it's just specials, the date is Aug 4, 2019, and he's intentionally not "spoiling" anything because it hasn't quite released yet. All of that means it was the Seamen episode. ) Unfortunately, that's also basically all of the info. I haven't found anything more. Maybe hopefully someone else will come out of the woodwork at some point with more details.

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SirLostit@reddit

Thanks. I’ll have a look!

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mr_greenmash@reddit

And on that terrible disappointment...

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Element_905@reddit

….For Top Gear

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cbarrister@reddit

I'm intrigued!

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ahighstressjanitor@reddit

Curious to know this one too

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WiggyDiggyPoo@reddit

In the Polar Challenge, who was the man with the pixelated face 🤔

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cbarrister@reddit

An interesting fact. Clarkson and May made it to the magnetic north pole, but that changes over time with the earth's shifting magnetic fields, and is currently significantly further north than it was in 2007 when that Top Gear Special was filmed. [Magnetic North Pole Map](https://imgur.com/a/RdKJM04)

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Zemerick13@reddit

Pretty late, but I was here anyways for another post, and figured this is an interesting enough little tidbit to add some more. So, they actually did not make it to where the magnetic north pole was, but for a fairly good reason. They instead went to the 1996 Magnetic North Pole, and that's because they were sort of following along with the "Polar Challenge" annual race. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polar\_Challenge](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polar_Challenge)

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Acc87@reddit

yeah, read up on some airports literally changing their runway designation in the last few years (like "34R" to "33R") because of this, as those are based on the magnetic compass

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WiggyDiggyPoo@reddit

I've read that too, it is interesting 👍

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PopeInnocentXIV@reddit

Hands above your head!

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JediMineTrix@reddit

I can confirm that he was NOT one of the car thieves from the BMW 328i challenge.

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WiggyDiggyPoo@reddit

Nor the Van thief either I'd expect. (That episode has one of my favourite funny moments, when the thief is utterly rubbish and can't break in lol)

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Washout81@reddit

How does The Stig catch fish with his tongue if his helmet is always on?

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bogcontroler@reddit

All we know, he’s called the stig

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techtornado@reddit

Some say that he can breath underwater on Tuesdays, and that he glows blue under a crescent moon

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pingleague@reddit

Some say he submerges his head, opens the visor, and wriggles his tongue as a lure.

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shumoco@reddit

Was it just a hippo's head or was it an entire hippo, with the rest of him underwater?

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kitlynchrobinson@reddit

I directed it- 100% real hippos.

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shumoco@reddit

Thank you. Your confirmation lead me to a cathartic moment. And if if you truly had a hand in directing that, thank you for being a part of bringing us the Holy Trinity of automotive journalism.

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kitlynchrobinson@reddit

Pleasure. And yes I really did. Glad we could bring you some entertainment and journalism 💪

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doyouquaxu@reddit

And where was Jeremy during that part of the film? Not buying the camera lens condensation.

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Meior@reddit

Yeah I feel like there's a joke that I didn't get there.

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shumoco@reddit

It’s a reference to the Botswana episode.

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Meior@reddit

It is? I've seen them all so many times but I can't figure that reference out.

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Cptn_Canada@reddit

I figured he finally had issues with the jeep and didn't want to admit it.

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Typical_Pin_6484@reddit

Did Jeremy's car really break down in Chernobyl, or was that a bit?

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JCD_007@reddit

Was Michael Schumacher really the Stig?

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chetgoodenough@reddit

Any news on Schumacher?

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No_Doubt_About_That@reddit

He was only the Stig because Ferrari would only let the car out to a select range of people.

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Chawizawd@reddit

I thought the black FXX was Schumacher’s one since he was the test driver for them at the time.

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NeoSapien65@reddit

Both is true. The black FXX is Schumacher's, but FXX "owners" didn't get to take them home, Ferrari kept the cars at all times and you would show up at whichever track they were doing an FXX event at and get to drive your car. Petrolheads were desperate to see the FXX on TG but the only way Ferrari would release it to be run on TG was if Michael was the only one to drive it, and he drove his personal car.

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Thirst_Trappist@reddit

Yeah thought this was fairly known at this point

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Benny303@reddit

Ben Collins was the primary Stig.

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michaelloda9@reddit

No

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TGX03@reddit

What exactly happened with the Tesla Roadster when Jeremy tested it?

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jjmuti@reddit

It was actually genuinely broken and it was the first highly public instance of Elon being an adult diaper wearing piss baby.

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Grunt636@reddit

Elon Musk sued them for libel and malicious falsehood but lost in court

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TGX03@reddit

That is known, however the court never ruled on what happened, only that nobody takes Top Gear seriously and thereby it doesn't matter.

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Quasarya@reddit

I think someone within the crew at the time wrote about this. It did malfunction a lot and it did in fact completely break down.

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thenoblegaunt@reddit

Do we actually know for sure if Hammond got his teeth whitened? I’ve heard jokes but I don’t know if it’s true.

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milkmypepperoni@reddit

There seems to be alleged confirmation in the segment when Clarkson called Hammond about his teeth whitening pricing in the Peel P50 testing

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jjmuti@reddit

Oh that was definently a bit and not a real call lol

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TGX03@reddit

I mean you have no proof that Hammond was even on the other end of that line, so...

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darthfracas@reddit

The teeth whitening kit was on his desk in the “buy a car for a teenager” challenge when they were trying to buy insurance. I think that pretty much confirms it. Just like we know there are multiple Stigs because he was photocopying his head in background of that scene.

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JimmiCottam@reddit

Which arm did James break?

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techtornado@reddit

We may never know

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ProsciuttoFresco@reddit

What do Jeremy’s bracelets represent?

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techtornado@reddit

Speed Power Genius

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pricclythingy@reddit

We never got the long term review of BMW 850 and Merc CL600

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Furrymcfurface@reddit

They broke and were expensive to fix

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pricclythingy@reddit

And on that terrible disappointment, back to the studio

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s6cedar@reddit

What a twist!

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Quasarya@reddit

What else was on the complete list of "all the cars that Jeremy had owned"

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ydktbh@reddit

what images did jeremy find on the Internet?

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RY4NDY@reddit

That one has been answered, it was an image of a man wearing a dress sticking his... eehm... "gentleman's sausage" in the exhaust pipe of a Land Rover

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K4NNW@reddit

Great... Now I won't get that image out of my mind.

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mr_wernderful@reddit

And yet I would pay a lot of money to see that 🤣

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Cercoza@reddit

nsfw https://twitter.com/JoeboyFate88/status/429152309038567424

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mr_wernderful@reddit

Another case of "be careful what you wish for" I guess

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YorkshireBD89@reddit

There was a whole series of this gag. Did they just show the same thing over and over?

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SamBateson@reddit

It definitely wasn't the only image they showed - you can tell, even at a distance. Some say... one of the images was a behind the scenes shot of James completely naked in his racing Aston, but it seems unlikely...

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JediMineTrix@reddit

They definitely showed that one a lot of times. You can see in the studio wideshots that it's the same picture.

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poutinegalvaude@reddit

Was Jezza’s number plate on the Patagonia special really a coincidence?

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doyouquaxu@reddit

Wilman just did a podcast with Ben Collin’s in which he said the Porsche number plate was the one it had on it, and wasn’t not changed for filming.

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AeonUK@reddit

I didn't think that was the conspiracy. I always assumed they bought the car BECAUSE of the number plate. The coincidence is that it just happened to be on a decent car that fit the film. It really has got Clarkson's MO all over it. But ya know, who knows.

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doyouquaxu@reddit

The way Wilman explained it, Jeremy requested that specific model Porsche. There were only a couple for sale in England so they went with what they could get.

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Grimdotdotdot@reddit

They caused an international incident. He's not exactly going to say "lol, sorry, our bad".

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doyouquaxu@reddit

Yeah, but I don't think they all got together and came up with an idea that could legitimately get the presenters or the crew intentionally injured or killed by a mob.

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Quasarya@reddit

What? Of course nobody in the crew would deliberately do something that could get themselves injured or killed. They simply just didn't realize the locals were in fact far more radical than they can imagine. Otherwise they wouldn't have brought a car with a plate like that anywhere near Argentina.

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Meior@reddit

They've done multiple things that were conceived as a joke that ended up being taken seriously by those who were the target of it. It does happen, even if they of course didn't expect it to cause an incident.

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devadander23@reddit

Why are you trying so hard to make this something it isn’t? As bad as the clowns down in Argentina

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Meior@reddit

Wtf? Trying so hard? I made one comment and it wasn't even arguing either way. Just discussing the event. You're confusing me with someone else who's commented a bunch. Also, comparing my casual discussion with people who fucking *assaulted the whole team* and probably tried to kill them. Way over the top comparison. Clown? Yeah, your bullshit response is.

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devadander23@reddit

That’s awfully specific. How does this even have the 3 upvotes it does?

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charles_peugeot405@reddit

Yep, I believe there are records that show it’s always been on the car. Think a previous owner came forward too

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whatsinthesocks@reddit

Yea there can be some weird coincidences sometimes. Like the Car Franz Ferdinand had a license plate that was likely AIII 118 but could be read as all ones. Being A 11 11 18.

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Thirst_Trappist@reddit

May even did as n interview where he pointed out it can be looked up

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jawide626@reddit

Part of me thinks that they saw that car for sale and devised everything else around it. But then i realise that's extremely farfetched and very unlikely. However you would also think that one of the huge crew would have noticed the similarity of 1982 and Falklands so suggest perhaps to change the plates. I know there was a spare, different set of plates in the back of the porsche but why not just put them on from the off, nobody would have known any different.

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UnlogicalReason@reddit

Unlikely? That’s exactly what they did.

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michaelloda9@reddit

The post asks for unsolved mysteries. This one is solved

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Hir0h@reddit

All the definitive identities of the stig

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Silverdarlin1@reddit

To my knowledge: Perry McCarthy - Original Black Stig Ben Collins - White Stig I Dan Lang - Winter Olympics Ski Jump Gugu Zulu - African Stig Heikki Kovalainen - Renault R24 Lap Michael Schumacher - Ferrari FXX Lap Phil Keen - White Stig II

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smpstech@reddit

I believe Ben Collins said the American stig was a local driver. They wanted him to do it but they would fly him out just to do that one bit and then fly him back and he didn’t want to do that.

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Jay_Nocid@reddit

I would have sweared that Stig II was Tom Chilton

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UnlogicalReason@reddit

Touring car legend Tom Chilton*

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TG10001@reddit

Hair dressing legend Tom Chilton

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BavarianBanshee@reddit

Hadn't heard of him before, so decided to read up on Gugu Zulu. Apparently, he unfortunately passed in 2016 while attempting to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro.

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Acc87@reddit

Hot take, but I'd not be surprised if there were many more, with the "Stig" persona simply allowing car manufacturers to send their preferred driver for the lap, to let their respective car really shine. So basically the Schuhmacher/FXX deal, but with tons of manufacturers and cars.

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----Ant----@reddit

No, I think someone that can get even just say 95% out of a cars performance, on a track they have done thousands of laps on would be quicker than someone that knows 100% of the car but only a few hot laps on a track. It wouldn't surprise me if they had more stigs for filming but Ben Collins was well known as a good driver for manufactures, they would have been happy with him (except for Ferrari being Ferrari of course).

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devadander23@reddit

Biggest question right here.

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Jakeca@reddit

What happened with the Restoration Ripoff ??

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Wallio_@reddit

It turned out the Mini that won was a scam. It wasn't the rally car they claimed it was.

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Jakeca@reddit

oh cock, thats a shame

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OldDarthLefty@reddit

Who are the some who say?

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lifegoeson2702@reddit (OP)

Idk but there’s an Oasis song called “Some Might Say”

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jawide626@reddit

[Redacted]

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mertzen@reddit

What was I James’ super secret footage of the Dacia Duster.

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lifegoeson2702@reddit (OP)

Probably spy shots

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Jawsper420@reddit

Did James May really find a new source to the Nile?

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captain_intenso@reddit

Where do the falling pianos keep coming from?

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Grunt636@reddit

They already explained their neighbours were a helicopter piano removal company

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lifegoeson2702@reddit (OP)

Careless Airways

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Evija2021@reddit

Was Clarkson's Porsche 944 ambulance actually slower around the Top Gear test track than Hammond's ambulance?

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Grunt636@reddit

The speed humps likely slowed the porsche down a lot whereas the vambulance got air

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QF_Dan@reddit

Why did Jeremy hates Dacia Sandero?

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Smart_But123581321@reddit

What were the specials they were going to film but COVID prevented?

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QF_Dan@reddit

They did planned to travel to Malaysia for a special

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Vylander@reddit

They were going to do one in Russia.

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danielson2047@reddit

Is Jeremy still riding his new bicycle?

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J37537@reddit

What did Hammond mean by a drunk queen?

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kribsfire@reddit

What happened to Jeremy’s Merc after it went over the date for scheduled maintenance, when he parked it in the underground garage?

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Roar_Intention@reddit

Where is the Mini rally car restoration that was the phone in comp for a season?

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Wallio_@reddit

It was a scam. It actually wasn't the rally car the owners claimed.

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thecountnotthesaint@reddit

Did the American shoot James in the RV special?

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Cptn_Canada@reddit

And hammond in the dune buggy.

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tamedsloth@reddit

Did they actually discover a new source of the river nile?

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mymomdressesmefunny@reddit

Where did the Stig learn about ducks?

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jawide626@reddit

That information is confidential.

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_TheShapeOfColor_@reddit

He only knows two things about ducks and they're both wrong.

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Burnout227@reddit

Well they can’t fly obviously

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mr_greenmash@reddit

Can't swim either

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clotheslessnz@reddit

Why isn’t he called Jennifer?

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Working-Restaurant46@reddit

In the st. Petersburg challenge there was a Porsche where the stig was banging his head on the fence but couple of shots later the Porsche was blacked out via editing

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kurokuma11@reddit

What was the deal with the Porsche license plate? I want to be charitable and assume it wasn't on purpose, but did no one serious look at that plate and think maybe we should have it changed out before we head to Tierra Del Fuego?

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Thirst_Trappist@reddit

It's been discussed by Wilman and May separately. It was the plate that came with the car

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kurokuma11@reddit

I get that and I've seen those interviews, I just mean it seems reasonable to me that given the histories between these two countries and the stated theme of the special, someone would have noticed that plate and said "oh that's inconvenient, let's have the plate changed before we head out"

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Thirst_Trappist@reddit

It's the plate that came with that car.... How many cars have you been given a plate and wondered who it would offend?

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devadander23@reddit

No, because rational people would never make the weak connection in the first place.

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Hullodurr@reddit

Assume it was on purpose, can you believe how much outrage a measly little number plate caused. Like it meant something?

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billy69317@reddit

I agree. My position has always been that it doesn't matter whether it was on purpose, you don't get to assault people.

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ChiefCodeX@reddit

I read that as you don’t get to insult people. I was like are we watching the same show????

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w3stvirginia@reddit

Did they really damage the car wash with the Renault Espace convertible.

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powergo1@reddit

Did it need a washer, yes or no?

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ZENSoarer@reddit

How you get tickets to be in the audience of TGT or TG?

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IndianaJones_Jr_@reddit

Which seat do they sell as standard?

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BlazerSlayer7@reddit

On the tractors episode, they said they would come back later and harvest the rapeseed oil, and use it as fuel. Nothing really happened after.

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nikhkin@reddit

They used the crops to fuel the 24 hour race: [https://topgear.fandom.com/wiki/BMW\_330d\_Brit\_Car\_Champion](https://topgear.fandom.com/wiki/BMW_330d_Brit_Car_Champion)

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Theturdburd@reddit

Do you watch Top Gear?

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DanielBWeston@reddit

They did. Next season, they did an endurance race with a BMW running on biofuel made from that rapeseed oil.

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MarcusFalk@reddit

Uhh, it was apparently diesel crops they had grown, hence the silverstone 24 hour race with a diesel beemer

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