Australia to get local Top Gear
November 19, 2007 by Alborz Fallah
We report this news with some reservations. SBS has announced it will produce a “quintessentially Australian” version of Top Gear destined for Aussie TVs starting next year.
This is the first time the BBC has given rights to produce Top Gear for another country, and while we are delighted that Australia is the first to get the green light, we have to ask, just how is it meant to work?
Top Gear has been on and off TV since the 80s but it has found a worldwide cult following in the last five or so years. Successfully replicating that formula will be hard without the shows biggest assets, its presenters.
SBS director of content Matt Campbell acknowledges our fears and has stated SBS will add Aussie flavour to the successful formula.
“In making it we won’t simply replicate the UK series with an Australian version of Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond or James May, SBS plans to make a program that is uniquely and quintessentially Australian.” he said.
In another bit of good news SBS has confirmed it has secured the rights to the UK show for the life of the series. We’d imagine the Australian version will air directly after TopGear UK on SBS.
When informed, Top Gear’s main man Jeremy Clarkson said: “I’m delighted that Top Gear is going to Australia. Maybe the first guest could by Jonny Wilkinson.”.
Expect the show to air mid to late next year.
Print it: 
Now I think everyone is going stupid with ideas for hosts. Dont just say someone who is funny but has no idea or passion for cars. As much as I don’t like him I think Sam Neuman would be perfect for the job. He’s opinionated, outspoken and not afraid to tell the truth and is a true car nut, he is the aussie JC but in a different way.
If contracts had no part in the decision process I’d have
Sam Neuman
Grant Denyer
Neil Crompton
I think you’d have a ratings winner on your hands there
Glen Ridge should be conducting tours in a automotive museum NOT fronting a TV series – he would seriously put my Grandmother to sleep!
Whoo! I’m excited! Great news! Can’t wait to see some aussie cars on Top Gear.
A small piece of history. Think Top Gear is all new??
Have a look at “Torque” starring Peter Wherret from the mid 70’s and produced by the ABC. Oz did it 25 years before Top Gear.
You’re right Mortimer. BBC2 got the idea Torque which kicked off in 1970 and ran until 1975. Wherret was perfect. Opinionated, not bad on the eyes, and he knew his stuff as a former advanced/race driver instructor. One of the first in fact, with Peter Finlay.
There have been three or four attempts since then, the best being “Behind The Wheel” on Channel Ten, with car nut and rally driver James (the trumpet) Morrison, Dick Johnson and Kevin Bartlett in 1995.
Biggest problem is not only talent but money. Top Gear UK has a budget of over 200,000 pounds per episode and they don;y even have to pay for track hire. The budget for Drive TV was less than AUD$50K.
That’s why Top Gear in Oz won’t work!
Speaking of Peter Wherret,
Doesnt he now wear dresses and go by the name “Shirley”???????
One of the other problems is that the commercial stations dont seem to relaise what a huge following motorsport; performance cars and cars in general have in Australia..
If they want to get an idea just look at the monthly sales of Wheels Motor Street machine Auto Salon Unique Cars and Top Gear magazines
As a result – if a car show is lucky enough to make it to air its usually short lived because it’s a half arsed attempt at info-tainment hosted by guys who laugh at their own stupid jokes and a bit of female eye candy to whom the most important feature of a car is “the colour”
Yet it’s obvious there are women; such as BM who know and are interested in more than that
The shows are also restricted to weekends instead of Prime-Time [like Top Gear].. Their timeslots change without notice [which can effect their ratings] or they’re shown when another [live] event has been cancelled or affected by rain
Whilst we are made to put up with crap such as idol; Big Brother; The Biggest Loser; Funniest Home Video; National Bingo Night etc.. [LCD TV - Lowest Common Denominator]
Going by Reckless’ thinking anyone who has driven in the NT before they imposed speed limits [as I have] also qualifies..
Somehow I think the citeria will require a little more than that
Interesting comments about having a female presenter or not. I don’t hink it should be about gender…it should be about people who are passionate about cars and work well together. To use “eye candy” such as JH and MG is an insult to all. If, and I mean if, a female presenter is on the cards, she must be credible and passionate and actually know how to drive a car!
Unlikely to work, especially as SBS’s advertisers won’t take kindly to the hosts saying their products are shit – so much for the format…
And while Dieter Kahsnitz would be great (that drifting episode of the C word was _outstanding_), they’d be better off sending him to the UK than trying to do something here with no money, no originality and a shit load of sporting has-beens and idol rejects. Please, please, please keep Neil Crompton off TV – the way he big notes himself by using the first names of F1 drivers is intolerable.
Melissa Pye – yes! Unfortunately, I bet they would go for eye candy before brains, but that chick on Fifth Gear (a Top Gear knock off on TV in the UK) is brilliant, cute and rides a motor bike. All they need to do is find the credible and passionate girl who can drive – and then give her a makeover ;)
maybe they could have jim richards or john bowe as the stig…. and for the presenters i was thinking:
warren luff?
Jamie noonan ( v8 supercar commentator )
Russell ingall
Maybe even jason bargwanna, i reckon he might be looking for a job!!!
Maybe kim watkins off 9 am with david and kim for a female perspective, she drove for the castrol cougars… remember them!
Or maybe bert newton…. hehehehehe…. everyone loves bert!
Hey Melissa most of the guys on this site have respect for women but then you get some that are just having a bit of a joke around too………I wouldn’t worry too much about the sexist comments Im sure should Top Gear get some hot 20 year old with large boobs she couldn’t drive anyway let alone keep people entertained for long . Blokes have the internet for those airhead types to perv on should they feel the need!
Men fall in love with looks …….women fall in personalities!
Hey Jack your talking about Vicki………….shes great who cares how she looks or any females, Clarkson has the sex appeal of a baboon!
Tonyn………what about Rachel Splatt? The queen of speed?
Hey talking of Russell my girlfirend was bidding on Half of Russells car from the resent Bathurst,must have been the right hand side Im guessing,2 wheels,front guard,2 doors back quarter panel.sold for $700,00 and they signed them ! bargain!
So what do you think about Rachel Splatt…..I know a bit of a dog when she was younger but she can drive fast in fast line…….line her up for the yank stuff!hehehe
Melissa: I would like to see a female host on a car show. As I said there are a lot of women around who know more about cars than the ones who have been on the various aussie car shows we have seen on TV in recent years.
Infact I have made a couple of Female suggestions for host
I used the term “eye candy” because the only reason these women were picked [by the producers] is because of there looks and not there knowledge of cars.
Which I don’t agree with because it gives the idea that all most guys are interested in are a girls looks not their brains.. it also gives the impression that all women who hang around cars or motorsport are dumd.
Both of which aren’t true..
I for one enjoy blogging with BM because she knows what she’s talking about and is open to other peoples views.
Not only that but Leanne Tander is a qualified accountant; Amber Anderson is a qualified lawyer
Another one is Danielle Agiro former Brute Ute Driver and a qualified mechanic
i reckon the most entertaining female presenter on Tellie is Shellie Craft.
she is down to earth and relaxed and a good sense of humour.
Kind of the female version of grant denyer i reckon
she is always entertaining to watch on great outdoors. oh and ben dark too. they are probably the 2 most relaxed presenter on tv at the moment. keep in mind the presenter doesnt need to be a F1 driver
Thanks Wheelnut……..I thought of Leanne Tander too….Never heard of Danielle Agiro..I will do a google on her.
Shellie too is good value but a Female presenter needs car knowledge!
Ben Dark …..hes the one I mentioned last night…….a little yobbo but is a rev head!
But Mark Webber is easy on the eye……….is that sexist?
Hey BM, thanks for your comments. I am really impressed with everyone’s response to my suggestion of NOT using “eye candy”. I thought this blog would be very “blokey” and perhaps a little sexist, but it appears that men and women are on the same page when it comes to TG hosts. That’s enough from me. Don’t want to turn it into a lovefest!
No problem Melissa…..as I mentioned most of these guys just want a good host as us girls do. A carfest is what we all prefer ! Wheelnut has represented most guys thoughts on this subject I think!
actually i think the presenter doesnt need to be a rev head.
if they know too much they will detract from the guests that come on the show. you have other guys that know their stuff whereas the actual presenter/host just needs to be friendly and likable.
all the comedians can stay at home as they would only be on there thinking they are able to sell themselves.
someone that isnt afraid to make themselves look stupid or can take the piss out of themselves such as craft and dark and denyer are a great idea.
i like comedy but any professional comedian would try to hard to make a joke out of everything
You know Clarkson when he started could even drive…….he use to borrow the jernos runabout and go out on the strip at night to teach himself how to get sideways….read it in of of his books! So yep they don’t need to be a real rev head but they no need to know what their talking about. Shelly might be good in the reasonably priced car,but I don’t think her over all car knowledge is great.
Dark is a hoot but he rubs me the wrong way ….comes across as sleezy too…….
Your right about the comedians though!
I just hope that they dont keep showing fords and holdens only…. that would be a real turn off….
I mean they are good cars, but I cant watch/read another story about holden vs ford.
would be cool if they did a race from melbourne to perth, or some challenges etc….. rather than just a dry “specifications” program.
Missile
I believe Danielle Agiro; who used to race in the Kanga Loaders ute now races in the Sports Production Car series in a Vectra and her family owns “The Brock Shop” in QLD so she knows a thing or two about performance cars
it’d be good and all but how many nice, expensive, fast cars in aus and there are no autobahn in aus so it would make the races stupid. they would be better of playing British top gear on aus tv like win or ten instead ofthe American crap
They already play Top Gear here though! SBS SATURDAY NIGHTS
I don’t think we have to copy what the boys do over there ,we invent our own fun,in regard to fast cars,theres more out there than you think!
I think with the right commentators it will do well,I mean its only got to compete against what at the moment?
you’ll all be pissed at top gear when you hear what golden boy clarkson said about Aussie cars in the latest series.
Aussie top gear will be a copy.. but why when you can have the real thing. Invite the team over for a challenge or a one off programme so we can see your cars banging around.
What did he say dieselhead?
I wonder because surely he knows the Vauhall VXR8 which he is so in love with is a HSV??? I’m Ford through and through but I’m still proud of HSV taking it to the rest of the world with a cheap, powerful car (even tho the engine is yank).
yes i know that top gear is on Saturday night but not that i having a go at you but the episode that was on last week was viewed in the UK in December 2005 thats two years ago one of the networks should fastrack it like they do with heroes and house and all the others. maybe it will be as good or better but i doubt it btu hay worth a try
i agree with Watto_cobra and it’s really funny because clarkson goes on about how ausies are stupid and don’t invent anything witch is wrong!!!and then he has to eat his own shit because it is such a great car. and yep they did get it stuffed up but in the end there is not really that big of a difference between a holden monaro and a HSV GTO but what do you want i mean they are pom
Ok I understand STIGE……..you can down load the resent episodes off the internet!
yes i know that but it is a pain in the arse and i thought you could only certain parts of an episode from the topgear web site
Na ……theres a site you can go to and down load full episodes! The address is www {obviously}.finalgear.com/ Click on too TOP GEAR and pick what episode you wish to down load! Will take a while a few hours!! I stuck {obviously in there cause the post will be moderated otherwise. Goodluck!
That’s a lot of episodes on there BM, should keep any Top Gear nuts happy for a while ;-) New episodes start in January according the the SBS ad during TG last night.
I did send you the link earlier in the week Watto!
Have you not read your email?? I missed TG last night! Rerun anyway?
Yes thanks for the mail. That’s what I was referring to, just seemed an appropiate time to bring it up ;-)
Yes a re-run. The one where they bought a supercar each for 10,000 pounds or less. Clarkson’s Masrati blew up, Hamster Ferarri died as did Cap’n Slow’s Lambo, in fact no of them made it to the destination, lol.
hahaha…yep that was a good episode……..
You got time off over Christmas!!
I “should” have 2 weeks off, we’ll see. How ’bout you guys?
Yeah we stop on the 21st…………come back around the 14th Jan! The only time I really have off work ,so I look forward to it!
Thx guys for suggesting I’d do an OK job. I have applied – let’s see what happens. Thx for liking the C word too. Yes, we took the piss out of everyone, but with real affection too. Not to make people look bad, just to be playful. We did 39 eps with no budget – scammed everything! I love cars and bikes more than anything …except my daughter. It’ll be interesting…
thx again
d
WELL I REALLY DONT KNOW ABOUT THIS… THE POMS HAVE DONE SUCH A BRILLIANT JOB WHY SCREW IT UP… I’D LOVE TO HOST IT BUT I HAVE A FACE FOR RADIO AHHHH…
THE ONLY PEOPLE I CAN THINK OF IS DENYER, HUGHES AND MAYBE BERRETS FROM SUNRISE..
GOOD LUCK I’LL BE WATCHING .. BUT PLEASE MAKE IT FUNNY…
MONDAYS WILL NEVER BE THE SAME IF ITS NOT CHEERS
GRACIOUS TOP GEAR IN AUSTRALIA???
WONDER WHO THE HOSTS WILL BE????…..KATE RITCHIE/KYLE SANDILANDS/ANDREW G….LOL…i would seriously die!! :(
its going to be really hard to top the brits on this one….those hosts are sooo articulate, intelligent, witty and hammond is sooooo cute (i am a girl by the way)!!!
the stig should be called stigga!!!
eeww NO WAY i refuse to have grant denyer for a host…REFUSE…his not that funny and seems soooo scripted and he’ll go recommending Fords all season…..EEEWW!….i think we need fresh faces
Oh and remember a significant portion of top gears audience are the girlies so for heaven sakes get a bloddy host who is un bogan like…otherwise you are loosing a significant amount of ratings there!
Hi there, well I have just been called by SBS and I have been given the job. I can’t tell you who I am but you’ll know when you see me on the telly. I will be the one with the racing gear and the helmet on all the time. Cheers.
P.S I HEARD AARON BUTTERWORTH WAS IN WITH A GOOD CHANCE AS A SIDE KICK,,,,,WE’LL SEE.
Who the hell is Aaron Butterworth???????
He’s sort of a cross between Elvis Presley and Georg Bush.
Yeah but how funny is he????
I’ve heard he’s faster than a one legged tap dancer at a mardigra
Oh No!!!…if Top Gear Australia’s going to be on the sbs….that means they’ll get rid of clarke/hammond and may….NNnnnnnnOOOOOo :(
TO: ‘The Stig’ when you say ‘I will be the one with the racing gear and the helmet on all the time’……does that mean your the aussie stig????…or r u going to be an actual host?
Yes. I will be the man behind the wheel, thrashing the living daylights out of any vehicle thrown my way. From Fiat Bambino’s to the “I can’t believe people still spend money on these” Gemini’s. I asked for a T.V. spot however management said because I’m not allowed to speak this would make for very boring television. I pointed to Huphrey B Bear and they pointed to the exit.
I hope my driving pleases you TheStigsKid:)
P.S. Rumour has it that I will get to drive a Bugatti Veyron early in the piece as well YYYYYYUUUUUUUUMMMMYYYY
omg a bugatti!!…*mouth watering*
did u see any potential hammond’s by any chance???….