The seventh series of the BBC motoring show Top Gear, starring presenters Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, and James May, premiered on the 13th of November, 2005 and concluded on the 27th of December, 2005. A special, entitled the Winter Olympics Special, aired on the 12th of February, 2006.
Though markedly shorter than any prior season, Series 7 continued the trend set since Series 4 of having a car vs. public transport race (in this instance the Race to London in Episode 5), a cheap car challenge in Episode 4, and a test of three similar sports cars in the first episode.
Viewing figures continued to climb from Series 6, earning over 4.61 million viewers per episode on average. As a result, the show saw its easy renewal for an eighth series, which began airing in May 2006.
Episodes[]
| Episode | Film(s) | Track Test | SIARPC |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 (60) | The presenters travel back to the Isle of Man to compare a new set of exotic sports cars in a series of tests. | Ascari KZ1 (Richard) | Trevor Eve |
| 2 (61) | Jeremy races an Audi RS4 against a speed climber on the top of Verdon Gorge in the South of France. Richard looks into the history of British Racing Green before he and James have a go in some life sized Remote Control Cars. | Porsche Cayman S (Jeremy) | Ian Wright |
| 3 (62) | The presenters go on a Road Trip across France in their favourite supercars. | Ford Focus ST (Jeremy) | Stephen Ladyman |
| 4 (63) | The presenters are given £10,000 to buy a Mid-Engined Italian Supercar being set a Series of Challenges set along the way. Elsewhere James races the Renault Clio against a mountain biker in Portugal. | Pagani Zonda F (Richard) | Dame Ellen MacArthur |
| 5 (64) | Jeremy races James and Richard to see what is the fastest method of delivering a Truffle from Italy to London. Jeremy blasts across Europe in the new Bugatti Veyron whereas James attempts to fly in a Cessna 182 with Richard as his Passenger. Elsewhere James and The Stig attempt to see if the 4wd or 2wd Porsche 911 is better. | Marcos TSO (Richard) | Nigel Mansell |
| 6 (65) | Jeremy attempts to drive a Honda NSX round Laguna Seca faster than he can on a video game while Richard races the new Mazda MX-5 against a dog before he and James compete to see if Classics are better than Modified. | BMW 130i vs Volkswagen Golf R32 (Jeremy) | David Walliams |
| Winter Olympics Special (66) | Winter Olympics | None | None |
Production[]
As was explained during The News segment for Series 6, Episode 7, production for Series 7 was significantly delayed due to the slippage of both of Jeremy Clarkson's discs, which forbade him from driving for over 6 months as per the advice of his doctor. It is possible he either disobeyed this advice or that most of this forced hiatus had elapsed by the time the studio segments for the outgoing series were filmed, as he would be seen in a car just one month later. Regardless, only six episodes would be filmed for Series 7.
The series began filming in August 2005, as Jeremy Clarkson was spotted in the Isle of Man by Corrado Forum member VR6 on the 12th of that month, presumably to film the main three car comparison for the first episode. In addition, many of the new cars tested have the then-current 55-reg number plate, introduced on the 1st of September. The show continued to be filmed throughout Autumn, with production resuming over the winter period. Filming for the Winter Olympics Special commenced in January 2006, with Hammond absent for the first two events due to daytime television appearances on Des & Mel, as well his own program The 5 O'Clock Show, hosted with Mel Giedroyc.
Unlike other series, Series 7 was followed, in addition to the usual "Best Of" compilations, by a series of compilations which included the entire relaunched show's run up to that point. After a "Best of 2005" compilation which also featured segments from the sixth series, four more compilations featured segments from Series 1 onwards. These were:
- The Special Guests (13th March, 2006) - Guest stars from the Star in a Reasonably-Priced Car segment.
- The Challenges (20th March, 2006) - Challenges such as the ones involving cheap cars.
- The Supercars (27th March, 2006) - Primarily focused on the car vs. transport races, in addition to power laps.
- The Best of British (4th April, 2006) - A compilation of the best "British" moments from the show, including both cars and guest stars.
Of these, Supercars was turned into a home video release titled Top Gear: The Races which came free with a 2006 issue of Top Gear Magazine, and Challenges became the name of a highly successful series of home videos which ended up with six iterations. The "Best of British" concept was later re-used for the 2014 home video release of an almost identical name.
Reception[]
The show's IMDb page rated this series at an average score of 7.3/10, its highest score up to that point, indicating a positive reception overall.
[]
| Series 7 (2002 format) | |
|---|---|
| Presenters | Jeremy Clarkson | Richard Hammond | James May | The Stig (Ben Collins) |
| Episodes | Episode 1 | Episode 2 | Episode 3 | Episode 4 | Episode 5 | Episode 6 Winter Olympics Special |
| Series (2002 format) | |
|---|---|
| 2016+ | Series 23 | Series 24 | Series 25 | Series 26 | Series 27 |
| 2002 - 2015 | Series 1 | Series 2 | Series 3 | Series 4 | Series 5 | Series 6 | Series 7 | Series 8 | Series 9 | Series 10 | Series 11 Series 12 | Series 13 | Series 14 | Series 15 | Series 16 | Series 17 | Series 18 | Series 19 | Series 20 | Series 21 | Series 22 |