‘The Man in the White Suit’ by Ben Collins Book Give Away

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By Alborz Fallah | October 25th, 2010

The Man in the White Suit – The Stig, Le Mans, the Fast Lane and Me by Ben Collins is the first chance the iconic Stig from UK’s most popular TV show TopGear gets to share his amazing stories.

The book is an account of how Collins went on to become TopGear’s racing driver. Some say his brain is a Satellite navigation system and that he once had a staring contest with the Sun… and won. All we know is, his book is definitely worth a read.

There is some controversy as to what will happen to the Stig for season 16 of TopGear, will the crew simply replace him or kill of his character?

If you’d like to win a copy of the Stig’s new book, simply leave us a comment (50 words or less) and explain why the Stig deserves to remain on TopGear. Please login via FaceBook connect (below) to leave comments – entries from anonymous users will not be accepted. Competition closes 5pm Sydney time 27/10/10.

Just a few facts about The Stig:

He’s shared a cabin for seven years with Jeremy Clarkson’s underwear, James May’s PhD thesis and Richard Hammond’s hairspray
His picture is splashed across millions of items of cutting-edge merchandise, and some rather strange-looking Easter eggs
He’s lapped Dunsfold faster than Nigel Mansell, Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button
He’s guided hundreds of celebrities such as Tom Cruise, Sienna Miller and a blind ex-Artillery soldier around the now legendary Top Gear track
He’s raced wheel to wheel with the best of the best at Daytona, Sebring, Le Mans and Bathurst
He’s pitted a drug dealer’s Mitsubishi Evo against a Trojan tank and a Jackal High Mobility Weapons Platform, and a Vauxhall Monara against Chloe the dancing Ninja
He’s hurtled an Aston Martin DBS around the hairpin bends at the edge of Lake Garda

The Man in the White Suit by Ben Collins
ISBN: 9780007331680; $35.00; TPB
Publication Date: 1 October 2010

http://www.facebook.com/iwinarto Ignatius Winarto

I think Stig should remain in Top Gear because it has already been part of the whole Top Gear brand. Top Gear is not Top Gear without The Stig. Sure, BBC can replace the man inside the suit, but don’t kill him off. Maybe replace with pink Stig (NOT!).
nickdl

The Stig is an integral part of the Top Gear franchise as a whole. As you can see in the photo above, The Stig is as much of a symbol of Top Gear as Clarkson, May and Hammond are. Killing off The Stig kills a huge part of the show and I don’t know how they’d replace it.
Old Dog

I thought he already had plans to host fifth gear.

http://www.caradvice.com.au/ Alborz Fallah

Yes, that has been reported, although we’d really like to see him remain on TopGear.
Mikey_94

Ben Collins had plans to guest host on Fifth Gear – NOT The Stig. Technically speaking, they aren’t really the same person when it comes to being a personality on television. Ben Collins wants to be on Fifth Gear as himself, and not as The Stig.
D

He’s on the first episode of the current Fifth Gear series airing in the UK- he races some drag car.

Moxy

I think keeping The Stig on Top Gear is a grand idea, he can replace the failed “stunt man” they had a few seasons back, every week, The Stig dies in a new way, just like Kenny in South Park
http://www.ozmazda.com mad_bison

The Stig. An Icon. A Legend. Little kids want to be him, ladies want to be with him. Why should he leave Top Gear? The knowledge of the driver does nothing to disspell his abilities. He remains the same amazing driver, regardless of his identity. Long Live the Stig!
Bold

It is better giving a toyota yaris or iQ to a lovely young English girl than shooting it into deep water from Royal navy carrier, so please keep white Stig.
http://www.facebook.com/funkdr Daniel Hobson

Saw a fantastic shirt “The stig is dead! Long Live the stig.” The bloke is an icon you put a white helmet and race suit on anyone and walk them down the street 80% of people would immediately think The Stig. Top Gear would be slightly empty without the stig.
Shak

Some say that the Stig was taught to drive by Chuck Norris…

Sam

…who was taught to drive by Bas Rutten.

Shak

never heard of him/her, so your joke is lost on me.
El Guapo

Please, liver kicks are too much here.

i thought they cycled the stig driver between seasons anyway.

http://CarAdvice La Mercator

Some say if their was a Darwin Award for dramatically killing your career then Ben would have won it. Unfortunately Ben’s five minutes will fizz out quickly as it is the Stig who’s personality was bigger than the man. Good Luck to the guy who used to be the Stig, what ever you name was…..i can’t remember now, Ben someone was it?

JML

For 8 years Collins went far out of his way to keep the Stig identity secret. His racing career suffered as a result of conflicts with Top Gear, and lastly, he wanted to quit because he wasn’t enjoying it as much anymore and wanted to concentrate on racing. He only ever speaks highly of the show and the presenters and crew, in stark contrast to their immature bagging of him in the media. You should read the book and get the inside story before you leap on the bandwagon.

Save It for the track

Regardless of the court ruling, seems Collins breached his contract to me. He knew what he was signing up for. He should have waited for his contract to end, and left gracefully.

http://caradvice Popeye

Some say he’s the next James Bond while others say he will pilot Sir Richard Branson’s new Spaceship! All we know is he belongs on Top Gear and we want him to stay there!
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=587042927 Jackson

As good as Clarkson, Hammond & May are at TV driving, they’re not the Stig. Just because it’s not Ben Collins anymore won’t matter, someone or something else will fill it’s place.
Moey

Some say Top Gear is nothing without him, and that if you kill him off he will seek revenge on your testicles, all we know his called the Stig!
Simon Grounds

The Stig should stay. He is a character on the show. I’m not fazed if it’s Ben Collins or someone else. True aficionados will have known that Ben was the Stig for some time. Someone with skill needs to be able to maintain the Top Gear Power Lap Board.
AB

Because he IS the Stig!
Turbo Turtle

Now that every body know who the Stig is, surely having another new Stig is not that interesting anymore.

I can’t understand why Top Gear can’t simply rehire Ben Collins as a forth presenter. He’s worked with them for so many years, why let a little book ruined the whole thing.

In fact, I think Ben could review any car in much finer details than the other hosts, so I will be interested in his opinion.

Wouldn’t it be fun to watch Clarkson and Ben argue over some minor points too.
MattP

Regardless of who plays the Stig, the character is an important and integral part of Top Gear.

His demeanor and approach, the music he listens to while driving, , the way he stares at a train or bus and doesn’t know what to do . . . all represent a key part of the appeal of Top Gear as a show and brand.

It is obvious BBC will keep a Stig on the show. Maybe a female Stig is the answer? In pink?

Devil’s Advocate

It is just a shame that VBH already has a gig as the girl can really drive and the helmet would be a good way to hide her face… However I don’t think she would be able to stop squealing during a hot lap in a fast car which would be an instant ‘give-away’ and goes against what the Stig is all about.
I also think ‘the ring taxi’ and ‘D Motor’ would miss Sabine Schmitz too much if she were to take up the role! Her cover would be blown in no time…

MattP

Ah, yes, Sabine, now she was something special. The perfect replacement Stig!!!

bob

id dress up all celebrities in the stig outfit, let them do their lap, then unmask them each episode and do the whole talk to a celebrity thing. it would work and be fun. then of course just get shcumy to do a lap in the fancy cars.
Save It for the track

Just like Brock was, Schumacher is overrated. There are far better options than him to do laps on the Top gear track.
http://www.facebook.com cjg22

Stig should stay as he has always been credided as a presenter anyway, no matter who was wearing the suit, it is known that it wasn’t always Collins for some tests/stunts. It’s a great means of lapping each car by the same driver and not being accused of bias.