So - what’ve we gathered here? Not TG’s greatest cars of the last 30 years, but all 30 of TG's Cars of the Year - so one per year we've been around that shone brighter than its peers. And what goes into picking one of those? Well, simply, it's the car that moved the game on and dazzled us more than any other in that particular calendar year. Some of our choices still stand up today, others are a little harder to comprehend, but hey, hindsight is a powerful thing...
Can we do top gear’s best presenter of the past 30 years next? What about the golden cock reward? Have you guys ever heard of Jeremy clarkson? I think he would fit really good on your show.
"Ve hav der exkluiv deal mit der EVO magazin for der Neunelefe und ze Cayman, zey appreciade der Wasser cooldt Beedle! seh gut!" (Monkey will get that one!)
Brilliant car especially when it came out, there were no affordable “luxury” crossovers around especially one that looked like that, it still looks modern even though it’s a 15 year old design
Owner of the E39 here! Was great to be invited to take part on this shoot, was the first time I’ve ever been involved with something like this and it was fantastic! Ollie and the crew are a credit to top gear magazine! Regardless of your views on the list I think it’s brilliant that such contrasting cars can be brought together like this! Thanks for all your kind comments about my E39!
I remember driving it on a highway in Israel when it was new and being amazed of the grip this thing had and how much better it was than an Audi A6. Best looking Bimmer of the last 30 years, that’s for sure.
Cool car! Was thinking a few weeks ago of looking up the prices of one, since i always had a love for them but ultimately decided for volvo's. Seeing yours awakend my love again ;)
@@RYTF5 Fair point! It didn't. I missed the guff at the beginning (and the whole premise of the choice of cars!) and just whizzed to the cars i love e.g. Elise... P.S. I've just found out that TG car of the year started in 1997.... confusing that the list celebrates cars of the year from the last 30 years of TG magazine that only has 26 years of cars of the year.
Same with the 300ZX Turbo!!! It defined what Toyota and Mazda had to engineer to keep up. The sales numbers of the 350Z demonstrate that it will never be held in the same regard as the '89-'96 300ZX Turbo. I have mint condition copies of many of the first Top Gear mags. They were very expensive in Kentucky in the early 90's. lol. Cost more than Dupont Registry.
Fun Fact: The Top Gear team returned to Brooklands for issue 78 in 2000 for the Cars of the Year Awards repeating the stunt they'd done in issue 1 with all new cars on sale featured, (and Ferrari did play ball this time) rare/interesting cars included the AC ACE, Marcos GT3, Daewoo Korando, Hyundai Atoz and the Maserati Quattroporte.
Lot of cars went under the COTY radar - Honda S2000 surprisingly, arguably one of the greatest driving cars ever? Similarly, the Mazda Miata? McLaren F1? Lancer Evo/Subaru Impreza? The Aston Martin DB9? The Nissan GT-R! All exciting cars.
@@ekxxx123 Incorrect. The F1 was unveiled to the world in May 1992, in prototype form. After various further prototypes, production began in 1993 and the first customer delivery was in late 1993. No F1's were formally tested by the press until 1994 when Tiff memorably tested the F1 on Top Gear in 1994 and Autocar also did their seminal test in 1994 - and the F1 was driven by many other magazines in the same year. 1994 was therefore the key year when the motoring press were able to first garner an opinion on how great the F1 was/is.
OY07MHL was the exact R8 driven by JC up against Hammond's then-new 997.1 Carrera S on TG TV back in 2007. Was once sold after it finished its stint as Audi UK press car, then Audi UK admit it was a mistake to sell that R8 since their historic fleet did not have a V8 R8 back then. When OY07MHL came up for sale again a few years back Audi UK snapped it immediately and started working on it to restore it back to its glory days, and now it is firmly the part of Audi UK historic fleet.
it's a fat pile of broken garbage only suitable to go fast on a straight line (dont even start with craperring laptimes here, I'm talking about real life). It doesnt change supercar landscape at all. Though their picks are crap anyway.
@@jimmyjt16 Said like somebody that has never driven one. You can EASILY spot some1 that talks but has never driven it, because its impossible to claim that stupid BS after you have you been on a twisty or muddy track or country road... dont talk with no experience in the car.
1:02 That is the only time where you're going to see a Ford Puma and a Fiat Coupe, both of which are some of my favourite cars, next to the Bugatti Veyron.
What do you mean? They say 'TV's Jeremy Clarkson' in this video just like he was just some dude from any TV show you might imagine as if it was their own show.
@@andrewthornton2562 Very much considering one. My dad had a dark red 20v turbo. Going up in value and a future classic if it isn’t one already! Great purchase.
After all that time invested to gather these cars, really wish you guys did a bit of an extended version. IMO a lot of these cars deserved a bit more than 30 seconds of air time. Cool none the less.
the fact that no Porsches were included for all these years except the taycan makes us really question the taste of the people that picked these cars 😂
Oh well, I've driven six of these cars (Audi R8 Type 42, BMW 5 Series E39, BMW i8, Ford Focus Mk1, Toyota GT 86, VW Scirocco III) and they have all the rights to be there. We had a Ford Focus Mk1 (TDCi) as a family car and it was great overall. The engine was a bit rough, but steering, gearbox and chassis were great for this class. Later on I had a Focus Mk4 ST and it was still a good and fun to drive hatchback.
2nd Fun Fact: There were 2 Awards for 2004, the first took place in issue 127 and went to the 350Z, the 2nd which was branded as both 2004 & 2005 in the same issue 136, the winner was the VW Golf GTi. This later led to two 2005 awards as well and the 2006 awards being retconned in later issues due to the 2nd 2005 awards (Aygo & Veyron) being listed as 2006
Great to see the fiat coupe as i own a 20vt one! Still today the styling is in a league of its own, nothing comes close. Insane performance and a real head turner
All things being equal, I think I'd choose the F355. Or the Alfa if a dose of practicality is required. :) (When it comes to pure practicality there's precious few things that can beat the Multipla, but that's a face only a mother can love. :p )
Love the Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio. Would it be possible to see the best car(s) the show has ever featured or driven?(Perhaps 1/2 cars from each automotive category)PLEASE, & perhaps how about the best show hosts over past 30 years
FORD PUMAAAAA 1.7 VCT!!!! AND MY CURRENT AUDI A2!!!! OMG!!! The Puma I used to own, had rusted too much by the time it'd reached 20 years :( It was an amazing car for sure, and the Audi A2 1.4i, is my current ride, fantastic car that made of aluminium, so doesn't rust, and that's been a great companion for 4 years! I'm so glad to see both of them on the list!!! Thanks Top Gear!
I cant believe any version of the miata didnt make it, seems big in terms of 2 seater sport cars with handling and mass market 2 seaters or convertibles left nowadays. I guess when its competing against any other possible car at any price range during a year it makes picks VERY picky. and of course its all just opinion.
If the COTY also considers the impact the car has on the industry/in society as well as its usual stuff like driving performance, feel, functionality etc then I can definitely understand the Evoque, Veyron and the R8 being there.
So is anybody thinking about the way they put the cars seems like hot wheels when you were a kid? Like the random selection and colors and the line up just matches the way I would set them up as a kid.
This goes to show how good Ford were doing, the Focus and Fiestas in this line up and then they just kill them off 🤦♂️, I am a big fan of the Focus having owned 3 mk1s and now own a Mk2, though I am on the look out for a clean Mk1 Focus to add to the line up. Great cars.
As a biased australian it does wound me not seeing the Holden Maloo there because *and i cannot stress this enough* they still look great today, theyre a genuine workhorse, theyre built for comfort and to last and they were simply the peak every day single cab ute ever made. While an Amarok or a Ranger or a BT-50 or yhe mighty Hilux will suite any trade better, the Maloo was the perfect compromise. And it had one of the best power deliveries of all time.
I bought my Evo magazine while studying at Cardiff university 28 years ago....I was at my hairdresser 's lobby waiting patiently my turn when I first grabbed my first copy ever and it literally took me seconds to fall in love.
My daughter has one of those mk1 ford focus'. What a PoS. It's like something from the early 80s but built in the late 90s, early 00s. The fact that many Poms defend it as being OK makes me think every other car built in the UK is a dated PoS.
A few slip ups but a lot of great picks if I’m honest. The LR Evoque and the Jaguar XK are two I question the most and I’m guessing it was some hometown favoritism at the time why they got in.
And I still have my 350Z in the original launch colour Sunset Orange with Nismo extras and at 19 years old has just 50,000 miles on the clock. Love it 😎
Awesome collection of cars, but paints a sad picture of how few options are available to normal people who want enjoyment from driving a small quick and agile car. So many hot hatches and sportscars have been killed off in the last couple of years, and the few that remain will soon follow. Makes me doubly proud to own your reigning champion, and it is a car I will never sell on, because it is truly magnificent to drive, and it's unlikely there'll ever be anything (new) that could replace it.
The cars that excite me the most even among hypercars are the Toyota 86 and the Civic Type R! I think they are the best driving cars a regular man can buy! Also, how come there is not a single Porsche 911 GT3 here? 😶 I get if there are no Caymans or even regular 911s, but no GT3s? 😶😶
As long as I've been alive it's kind of been the bar that was a recipe that was a recipe that was difficult to argue against with cheaper value cars like the Corvette and even made more sense than the Lamborghinis and Ferraris. I'd argue the base and S are the magical Porsches to enter into these competitions or real world cars, but regardless picking a 911, Cayman, or Boxster to win is to go against the hype of a surprise winner (especially if it's a humble one). All COTYs are perplexing, but make sense at the same time. EVO, MT, R&T, C&D, and Chris Harris fast rundowns are always just good fun.
Feels so weird to say I've been to the very grounds of Brooklands. Those VC10 and Viscount tails in the background with the hangars containing some great specimens from the British aviation history, feels so familiar to see it on RU-vid. I just want to scream I've been there.
I've owned at least 6 cars in that line up and agree they all should be there, although you didn't put in the best Focus RS (the MK2) which is undoubtedly the best of the 3.
@@Hola-eb7nd you say it like it should offend🤣 but yes you're right...Volvo block with nearly every single internal part uprated.. bulletproof 5 pot with a phenomenal sound track 👍
A car that should have been a Top Gear Car of The Year is the 2014 Porsche Cayenne Turbo S: It does estate car stuff, it's a sports car in an SUV body, it does off-road, and it does limousine stuff
I can. Just because CHM popularize Top Gear doesn't mean they always been the best. I myself prefer the pre-CHM Top Gear with Tiff Needell, Quentin Willson, and Vicki-Butler Henderson in it.
That's a brave title when you consider all the people who aren't going to realise this is a retrospective and will think that you are picking your favourites as you would list them today.
@@samuelgarrod8327 That is not old School. Tom Boswell, William Woollard, Chris Goffey, Tony Mason, Tiff "the sultan of slide" Needell, Jon Bentley, Nicky Fox, Quintin Wilson, Michele Newman, Steve Berry, Russel Bulgin, Vicky Butler-Henderson, Julia Bradbury, Kate Humble, Jason Barlow, Adrian Simpson, and some young Whippersnappers called Andy Somethingorother, Jeremy Ohwhatwashisname and James Thingummy, now that is Old School ;-)
Top Gears BMW of the year is the i8. Literally the worst BMW of 2014... The only good thing it did was to look damn cool, but that's it. The engine was a joke. It was slow as hell and on top of that it was priced at a super car money. No, any other BMW from that year was better than i8.
Vw golf,passat,ford mondeo,audi a3 and a4,renault megane,mercedes c class,bmw 3 series....those are the best and long lasting cars that have been moving all around Europe for 30 plus years
Looks like amazing weather for your shoot! :P Thankfully we have the new Nissan Z available for us in sunny Australia, just saw one gleaming in the sun at the local dealership ;P
Check your editing Top Gear.. colours are all over the shop on this video… Ferrari red and the DS3 going between shades of orange and true red on each shot. Normally wouldn’t notice this but it sticks out like a sore thumb when it’s a Ferrari 😂
The Bugatti Veyron is a great car. Controversy: I would take one over a Mclaren F1. The Bugatti Veyron Super Sport is when Bugatti added some dark horse magic to the mix.
