Top Gear Magazine #4 was the issue of the magazine cover-dated January 1994. Published by Redwood Publishing Ltd., it contained 226 pages and was edited by the magazine's first editor, Kevin Blick.
Cover[]
With the title of "We race your car", Top Gear Magazine's fourth issue featured several drivers from the then-upcoming British Touring Car Championship, including Tiff Needell, who drove for Nissan at the time, alongside road-going versions of the cars they drove in said championship.
Contents[]
Upfront[]
- First gear - Ford let you order your car over the phone, the police stitch you up on the motorways, Baja and the Bond buggy.
- First steer - From the heights of Italian style to the depths of dull - the Fiat Coupé to the Mondeo diesel, plus Caterham, Alfa Romeo, Proton and Hyundai.
- Steering columns - Jeremy Clarkson in rather-less-than-politically-correct column shock.
- Quentin Willson telles [sic] tales of life on the great used car lot that is the universe.
- Tiff Needell, the man that everybody hates since Mansell bounced off him.
- Guest columnist Alan B'Stard MEP has some ideas about motoring. And sex.
Coverage[]
- Lapping it up - Take ten showroom saloons and a gang of mad dog racers, stir them well and let them out on a race track. What do you get? Mayhem.
Showroom[]
- The B team - We drive 700 ecstatic miles in a noisy, hard rally-tuned MGB and far fewer in a soft, spongy RV8. Plus Quentin Willson's advice on how to buy yourself a better B.
- Junior executives - Three cars that fancy their chances at beating BMW for the young exec's cash.
4x4xFlawed[]
- Off-road and on - They're slow, they're thirsty, they're dud to handle and if you drive them off road you'll likely get chased by an irate rambler. Yet they're all flocking to buy them. We drive the dirt and dig the dirt on the off-road 4x4 brigade. Plus where 4x4 = fun and how 4x4 = fast.
More Weirdness[]
- Bryan Ferry - Another Bryan, another Geordie rock star but this time it's an ex-Roxy rocker.
- The write-off racket - Ever wondered where written-off cars go? We found out - and it's not pretty.
- Stand up Nigel Mansell - He hates the press - but not his mate Tony Mason, who talked to Nige for us.
- Willson's dictionary - Dealer's slang is designed to confuse, but Quentin is here with the phrasebook.
- The cool school - Alfa Romeo do a fine driving lesson. Sun, Italian playboys, fast cars - win it.
Regulars[]
- Top Gear club - Subscription bargains, offers, competitions and loads of, er, other stuff.
- Trying two Triumphs - Tridents ancient and modern, from '70s hooligan machine to '90s smoothie.
- Gearbox - Winter is on its way, and luckily so is our page with all the stuff you might need.
- RAC advice - More a nswers [sic] to your difficult questions.
- Top Gear lettuce - I'm sorry, that should read letters. You write to us, we reply.
- Auto Jungle - This month, the crew at our friendly local garage take on... a shoe-tree salesman.
Used Car Guide[]
- Used news - All the ups and downs of the used car market this month.
- Long-distance runner - Quentin Willson finds a seriously sensible Saab that's done mega mileage.
- Expert eye - Look at your interior. Not got an X-Ray machine? Look at your car, then.
- Quentin Willson's good used car guide - All the cars and all the prices. Plus our man in the know tells all about the best - and the worst - used cars around.
New Car Guide[]
- New car news - What's new in the world of rearranged ranges and showroom booms.
- Our top cars - Yes, but what do you really think? We know what we think and it's all here.
- New car listings - Our utterly astonishing buyers' guide - more up-to-date data than somewhat.
- Manufacturers' directory - All the names and numbers, A to Z.