A back-up car, sometimes called the forfeit or punishment car, is a vehicle, provided by the producers, that the presenters unanimously dislike. Should a car fail or break down and is unable to complete a journey the presenter is faced with the punishment of completing their journey in said back-up car should they not be able to repair their own. During the tenure of Jeremy Clarkson as lead host, no back-up car was ever needed on a Top Gear Special. This was continued in the Grand Tour's Special, "A Scandi Flick". However, the back-up car was used once, during Series 13, Episode 5, as a result of James May's Ford Capri suffering from severe mechanical failure and also in The Grand Tour's "Eurocrash" as May's Croseley proved dangerously slow and unreliable
List of cars used[]
Below is a list of the back-up cars which were used in the Top Gear and The Grand Tour.
Special | Car | Fate |
---|---|---|
Botswana Special | Volkswagen Beetle | Not needed, Ironically crowned to be the "winner" by the presenters as it didn't suffer from any breakdowns during the trip. It was not, however, driven by any of the presenters. |
Vietnam Special | Honda bike with the song "Born in The USA" playing and American decals | Not needed. |
Series 13, Episode 5 | Morris Marina (Owned by Carla Bruni) | Required after James' Ford Capri broke down; was used for the ice race challenge which it won before having a piano dropped on its roof. |
Middle East Special | Vauxhall Astra Cabriolet | Not needed. |
India Special | Austin Allegro | Not needed |
Africa Special | Ford Scorpio Estate | Not needed. Sank to the bottom of a Tanzanian river after being incorrectly loaded on to a homemade ferry by the producers of the show as Jeremy, James, and Richard celebrated their successful crossing. |
Patagonia Special | Citroën 2CV | Not needed. The car was one of the many cars damaged in the attack on the Top Gear convoy as the crew fled Tierra del Fuego. It was the only 'star car' to escape Argentina to Chile. |
A Scandi Flick | Volvo 345 | Not needed. |
Eurocrash | Ford Popular Hot Rod | Required as May's Crosley proved dangerously slow that he chose to switch to the HotRod. The vehicle was later destroyed when being tested in a high-speed run down a mountain in Slovenia. |
One for the Road | Rover SD1 | Not needed, but chosen by the presenters as a tolerable Back-Up Car. |