Top Gear Magazine #209 was the issue of the magazine cover-dated October 2010. Published by BBC Worldwide, it contained 266 pages and was edited by the magazine's fourth editor-in-chief, Charlie Turner.
Cover[]
Issue #209's cover was made under the premise of the ultimate 3-car garage, containing an Ariel Atom V8, Bentley Continental GT, and an SSC Tuatara. It holds a significance in the sense that it was the earliest known cover to be shown digitally in online magazine stores. Ripley & Ripley were responsible for capturing the cover art on board the HMS Dauntless.
Contents[]
- SSC Ultimate Aero: The Grudge Match: Until the Veyron SS appeared, SSC's Ultimate Aero was the fastest car in the world. But it looked rubbish. Enter Jason Castriota...
- QT Wildcat: The only 'road-spec' Qt Wildcat in existence is actually due for service as a Ugandan golf cart. Turn to page 142 if you want this to make sense.
- Ariel Atom V8: A 500kg Ariel Atom with a 500bhp V8 engine wedged in the back. Matt Master dons his 'Brave Hat' for a tour of Italy's supercar makers. Wheeeee.
- Bentley GT: The most successful model in Bentley's history gets a thorough re-working. Tauter, leaner, sharper; here's the lowdown on the new GT.
- Bye Type R...: Strict Euro V emissions regs have led Honda to suicide the Type R brand. TopGear subtly reminds Honda of what we'll be missing.
- Old vs New: One is the old hand, the Jedi master of rallying. The other is the hot-shot kid straight out of F1. Sounds like the script for a movie. But this is real.
- Rizk DBR2: Tom Ford drives a car made of spaceships across a desert with a cowboy and an Egyptian. Last seen with third-degree sunburn.
- RCZ vs CR-Z: Triple word score in Scrabble, a twin-test without the use of vowels. It's a showdown between chic little urban coupés: Peugeot vs Honda.
Metal[]
- Mercedes-Benz CLS: Merc's more-door coupé gets an overhaul.
- Morgan Eva: A four-seater Batmobile. With a girl's name.
- Not the XJ-R: Jaguar's new XJ75 is not XJ-R. Not at all.
- Lotus T125: Lotus builds a limited-run track machine that looks like an F1 car. It costs £650k. Gulp.
- New Stratos: Italian soul. German electronics. Perfection.
TheBoys[]
- Jeremy Clarkson: The fastest is not always the best. Really.
- Richard Hammond: On the joys of fiscal restriction. Tight.
- James May: Future-proofing your car choices. Discuss.
FrontEnd[]
- TG's Turbo Tyres: How to be part of an F1 pistop. For real.
- Cars and Coffee: Car chat the American way, i.e. better.
- Paul Horrell: Applauds the purity of basic specification
- Jon Claydon: Reminds us of when men were Men.
- Pat Devereux: Accidentally buys a Porsche. What?
Drives[]
In Drives this month:
- Nissan Leaf
- Cadillac CTS-V
- Volkswagen Jetta
- Kia Sportage
- Skoda Fabia vRS
- Infiniti M37
- Audi S5/Twingo Gordini
- Merc S63/Alpina D3 Lux
- Audi A3 1.2 Cab/Punto Evo
- Ford Galaxy/Mégane Tourer
- Mini/Roomster
Gear[]
- Your Biggest Fan: A jet pack-cum-helicopter from New Zealand and carbon fibre from Woking.
Regulars[]
- Behind The Scenes: Navy destroyers, cowboys, picket lines, a tungsten mine and a confused Italian.
- Letters: Imagine a conversation. But more textual.
- Subscriptions: Don't panic. Get it delivered the lazy way.
- Camrrac: American V8 Sprint Cars. TG. Top Stuff.