page_title: Top Gear (2002 TV series)
section_title: Challenges
hierarchical_section_title: Top Gear (2002 TV series) / Format / Challenges
caption_attribution_description: Image of w:Jeremy Clarkson's "Toybota" used in w:Top Gear
context_page_description: Top Gear is a British motoring magazine and factual television series conceived by Jeremy Clarkson and Andy Wilman. The show launched on 20 October 2002, and broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC Two. The programme is a relaunched version of the original 1977 show of the same name, which looks at various motor vehicles, primarily cars. While the original format focused mainly on reviews of cars, the 2002 version expanded on this with motoring-based challenges, special races, timed laps of notable cars, and celebrity timed laps on a course specially-designed for the relaunched programme, with its format developing over time to focus on a more quirky, humorous and sometimes controversial style of presentation. The programme has received acclaim for its visual style and presentation, as well as criticism for its content.
  Since 2002, the programme has been presented by several hosts. In its first series, the show's line-up was Clarkson, Richard Hammond and Jason Dawe, with Wilman as the show's executive producer, and introducing anonymous test driver "The Stig", an individual played by numerous racing drivers over the course of the show's history.
context_section_description: As part of Top Gear's format, every episode has contained at least a number of segments involving challenges. In the first few series, these were focused on novelty challenges and stunts that were typically based on absurd premises, such as a bus jumping over motorcycles (as opposed to the more typical scenario of a motorcycle jumping over buses) or a nun driving a monster truck. However, these later changed into situations in which the presenters were either competing against each other with a car they chose in a series of tests, or working together to accomplish a goal, with the tagline "How hard can it be?" becoming a common phrase for the introduction of some of the challenges featured on the programme. Challenges that appear in episodes, mainly fall under the following categories:
  "Cheap Car" – The presenters are each given a budget with which to buy a second-hand car, and must adhere to certain criteria associated with the challenge (e.g. the car must be from a particular decade, or not be designed for a certain purpose). These types of challenges are often done as a competition, in that the presenters' choices undergo a series of tasks, which they have no prior knowledge of, that are designed to determine how well each car fares on various aspects such as reliability and power. Each presenter is scored based on how well their car did in the task. The winner in such competitions is often the presenter who scored the most points.
  "Car Creation" – The presenters take on the challenge of creating a vehicle, such as a police car or hovercraft, mainly using a car they feel will be good as the basis for their design. While they mostly work together to create something unique, occasionally they will make their own designs separately and then compete against each other to see whose design is the best. Regardless of the set-up, the presenters' creation will undergo a series of challenges designed to determine how well it has been made and how well it suits its purpose. Many of the cars created by the presenters were later displayed at World of Top Gear at the National Motor Museum, Beaulieu after their appearance.
  "Car Review" Challenge (see Car Reviews above)
  Car Sports – The presenters create their own versions of sports using cars as players, with such sports including football, rugby and ice hockey; tennis was also involved, though required a lot of editing. In 2006, a special episode entitled Top Gear Winter Olympics, featured the presenters partaking in a number of winter sport challenges that utilised cars, including a biathlon and downhill slope jumping.
  Specialised – The presenters undergo a specially designed challenge, in which they attempt to tackle something unique. Such challenges have included participating in the Britcar 24-hour endurance race at Silverstone Circuit, presenting a drive-time radio show, conducting roadworks within 24 hours, and making a televised advertisement for a car.
caption: Jeremy Clarkson's "Toybota" Hilux pick-up truck from the amphibious cars challenge
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