Top Gear Segments - Star in A Reasonably-Priced Car

Star in A Reasonably-Priced Car

In each episode, a celebrity is interviewed by Clarkson. Then, Clarkson, the guest and the studio audience watch footage of the guest's fastest lap around the Top Gear test track. The times are recorded on a leader board.

For the first seven series of Top Gear's current format, the car driven was a Suzuki Liana. At the beginning of the eighth series, the Liana was replaced by a Chevrolet Lacetti. Consequently, as the Lacetti is more powerful, the leader board was wiped clean. The format for setting a lap time was also changed: each celebrity is allowed five practice laps, then a final timed lap. No allowance is made for any errors on this final timed lap.

Ellen MacArthur set the fastest lap time of any celebrity in the Liana. However, before it was retired, The Stig was given the chance to do a lap in the car and set a faster time than MacArthur.

As of November 2008, Jay Kay has set the fastest lap time of any celebrity in the Chevrolet Lacetti.

There have been several mishaps in the past with this feature. Sir Michael Gambon went around the final corner of the track on two wheels, prompting Jeremy to rename the corner in Gambon's honour. Lionel Richie and Trevor Eve lost a wheel and David Soul destroyed the clutches of both the main car and the back-up car. Several celebrities have come off the track in practice, with Clarkson showing the footage to the audience.

There is a separate Formula One drivers' leader board. The Stig was top of this board until July 2010, when his time was beaten by Rubens Barrichello. The presenters consider Lewis Hamilton's time to be more impressive: it is only three tenths of a second behind The Stig, despite being set on a very wet and oily track. In the past Clarkson has told drivers that they may deduct 4 seconds for a wet lap in the Suzuki Liana making Hamilton's lap even more impressive. All Formula One times, even those set after the seventh series, are set in the Suzuki Liana.