What does the ex-Stig actually drive? - Ben Collins' car history 

Where did you guys film this? Especially the bit where you swopped cars.

What a comment I'm the exact same

Why not wash it in a nature preserve next time?

Wow, the way you guys insert these sponsorships are not organic and they go for too long. Yeesh.

maybe Ben goes back to his roots and find a little used Civic type R...????

Look up Richard Porter (Sniff Petrol/script writer for Topgear). When I first listened to his podcast a year or so ago; it made me realise a lot of Topgear was literally just Richard's personality cinematized. If you were as obsessed with Topgear as I was growing up, you'll spot it quickly.

I consider myself a huge top gear fan and never really wanted to know. Always thought it was Schumacher

@@TroyHR123 Yep the Smith & Sniff podcasts often have a window into the phrases and grammar used on Top Gear which as you say is Richard Porter's script writing

@@TroyHR123 is it on spotify?

@@otix3253 Nigel got the Podcast, Richard P/ Jonny Smith have a RU-vid channel called "Smith & Sniff".

He's driven the fastest, most expensive, most rare vehicles mankind has ever built. Makes sense that he would choose the most geeky of all driver's cars

I’m not a racecar driver, but I still feel difference in cars, so would expect it from a professional driver

Feel is more important than performance. The fast Audis have a lot of power, but they feel like lard.

@@strings1586 "...most geeky..." If that would be the case, he would drive a Nissan GT-R They more powerful, quicker and cheaper as a 997 Turbo - especially the early ones you could pick up before C19 for under 35k where as the 997T in decent condition never fall under 55k and you had to be lucky to find one.

​@@ldorman Then again this is the stig we're talking about, he didnt want a more powerful car. He picked the 997 because he loves how it drives while feeling connected and engaged. And also the 997 comes with a proper analog manual gearbox and handbrake which he prefers a lot and did mention in the video. The GTR never had a manual option.

I do agree, they enjoy being driven, thats why their made. Although I can understand 1/10 cars being kept and not driven but cars like this are made to be used.

Performance cars were built to be driven, not to sit in a garage or showroom and not be, they're supposed to be fun and put to the limit of what they were made for

Cars are meant to be driven, always makes me sad when a car like that is just stored and never used.

@@Robdutton91 it just kills me that people do it

Yeah its meant to be driven, will perish otherwise.

I feel like this man has been unfairly payed compared to one of the hosts or a mid-grid F1 driver e.g.

made me sad. dude should have at least few rarris and clarens

@@Emira_75paid*

💯

Bens a grafter it seems.

"Saved up"? He's not a child.

@@astonmartin4360 bens words🤷‍♂️🤦‍♂️

@@astonmartin4360 well he said "save up" himself

Jahahahah

.....and he does!

All we know is he's called the stig

Let’s all admit we said this in clarksons voice

@@adamschaeffer3614 all we know is, He's called the STIG

Civic prelude a3 for work because he had access to better cars, s5 then 911. Yup

Agree 👍

He has his own channel cold Ben collins drives I think

their banter is reminiscent of the old top gear and definitely better than the new top gear.

I absolutely agree. He is a great personality, he really should appear more often on Drivetribe

Thank you Tidy - if I just keep turning up & driving into their shots on a weekly basis I figure they have no choice but to make it official ;)

Was thinking the same thing. Not that TG was where you came for objective opinions about cars, but opinions about performance cars mean a little more when coming from someone who knows how to drive :-)

yes I would watch him talking about cars, he knows how to drive

Agree, Chris, Ben and Jenson talking shop... That would be a great fireworks..

Yes, instead of Hammond lol... all of them far better than the current crop, Paddy and Freddie are great but they’re idiots and Top Gear is not for idiots!

@@dannyboywhaa3146 *Jeremy Clarkson enters the room*

I was definitely surprised to learn that it took him seven years to save up for a used Porsche though. I thought they would have paid him a lot more on the show

@@BillStrathearn He is slowly opening up in recent interviews about his departure from BBC. He was underpaid and asked for more. They called him greedy and easily replacable. Soon after, he got sacked (possibly due to leaking his identify). Watch Road to Success Podcast to learn more.

To be fair, that 911 has 500hp and almost 500ft-lbs of torque. Does 0-60 in the low 3's (PDK version capable of

@@brois841 Oh, Yes! This is definitely fast enough!

@Evan Andrews 997.2 Turbo PDK with launch control will do under 3-seconds. Google it. Even if you disagree, the point is that the car makes more than enough power for a daily driver.

Porsche are always conservative with times reckon it’ll dip 3

I disagree, anyone who drives a car beyond there means, which is not for clout, is a car enthusiast. Ben is not a wealthy man like the others from Top Gear

@@dagnut he's worth like 12 million pounds. Don't forget he is a professional racing driver after all.

@@jasper5097 did you just Google net worth?

@@dagnut "...anyone who drives a car beyond there mean..." - is an idiot. If you are a car enthusiast you buy the next best or go as close as you can but without breaking the bank. And regarding Ben Collins being not wealthy - his yearly income is around £100.000,-; alone as a stunt driver he made around 50k /year. He made some money with his book as well. How much he's really worth, no idea, but I guess a few million but doubt the 12mil posted by Jasper.

@@ldorman I agree with that, I didn't mean to imply his buying cars and going without , that was probably phrased wrong. The point is , he's not. Wealthy man who can just buy brand new Ferraris like these spoiled ruch kid RU-vidrs

Heroes...

@@resnonverba137 stickler.

@@piratepete4322 Wanting basic and simple English to be used correctly hardly makes one a 'stickler'.

@@resnonverba137 Bet you're fun at parties ! Could have just enjoyed the story rather than nit picked one grammatical error in a paragraph on a RU-vid video.....

@@samforster1794 You could have thought of something more original for your opening. Are you familiar with the expression regarding fools and wise men when it comes to corrections?

And then everybody just goes "Who?" because they're all ten years old and have no clue who the Stig is:D

Kids: hey whats your dad's name. Kid: I've been waiting for this moment my whole life. He's called the Stig!

Was*

@@culling *is

​@@sumukhapk4136 well.... some say he-

This was exactly my evolution. Tho i jumped into a Saab 9-3 instead of an Audi A3.

I love the Prelude, my halo car in highschool, (91' to be specific, last year of third gen, though I love looks of 5th and final gen) it delights me that the stig had one as his daily. Now I want to fulfill that desire even more.

if even ben collins said a civic is a wicked car, it is a wicked car. it comes from a man who has driven probably the best the automotive world has had to offer for quite some years

You aren't really compromising on anything when getting a 911. They are know to be reliable compared to most other sport cars and just built well. The suspension isn't overly harsh and if something goes wrong with them, it's quite easy, although expensive, to get them fixed.

@@I_THE_ME To be honest, everything to the 997 was relative easy to work on. A friend of mine has a 996 GT2 and he dropped the whole drivetrain incl. engine within 35 minutes in his garage. He pretty much does everything on that car himself. He bought the car as an accident damage, and originally wanted to make a track car out of it, but after he fixed it and took it out still in close stock condition he decided to get it back onto the road. He got the car cheap, because it is cat.something it would be not worth selling, so it become in the last 7 yrs his weekend car.

Calling a 911 Turbo not extreme is… eh? Yes it’s not the fastest car, especially today, but drive around town and you’ll still be driving one the fastest cars on the road

@@ekim4926 In 2022 there some pampers bombers out there what can keep up with a 13 year old 997 Turbo, so to be honest, it isn't an extreme car at all. I know people with tuned Focus RS what smoke that Porsche for breakfast when they doing the school run - car technology changed a lot in the last 15 years. Also, 997 Turbo is easy to drive because essentially it is a Carrera 4S with a forced induction - GT2/GT3 are where the aggressive fun starts.

@@ekim4926 well... not that extreme for the stig🤔 He have driven some of the fastest and craziest car on the planet like Enzo, Koenigsegg, SLR ...etc He also get to drive some of the greatest porsche like turbo S, GT3RS, GT2RS, CGT etc

Seems like just a regular driver obeying the road rules to me.

He's the stig mate do you expect anything less

I'm now going to rewatch this video, just for this.

Completely agree! The way he turned the steering wheel when going into the turn...That was just masterful chain of actions.

Uhm...you can practice on roads just driving. Any speed you can make up your on lines thru a turn even just in your lane. More so on a motor cycle but a Sports Car ,you can do the same. It hardens your eye and hand . Also you can practice your foot work. Any professional will try and maximize " practice times" Just driving everyday, in what ever you have. A Sports Car is more fun because you can set it up to dial in or out, driving feel. And nimble and small enough to enjoy " just in your lane. I've been daily driving Sports Cars since I was 16, 50 yrs I drive Sports Cars ( currently Datsun Z ,S30 and Old Kawasaki GPz) I drive for 50 yrs this way. And on roads you know very well, it's your personal road course,to stick to your lines thru the turns. It's fun at any Speed and nobody knows, your always practicing Driving, shifting, braking and steering.

It's funny isn't it, because I hate how they added the advert to look like part of the video, I stopped watching it then.

@@eyesodd Usually I'd skip, but it was pretty satisfying seeing the same car featured in the video being cleaned.

No, it was an ad

Yeah dude, it's pretty insane how influential Top Gear lap times felt like back when The Stig was still THE Stig. That man provided so much fodder for debates about which car was better/faster/etc. Really cool to see the man under the white helmet, doubly so given how grounded he seems.

Top Gear was very well received in Poland. The show was transcripted to Polish ( a single voice would read all the lines and you could hear original language in the backgroud). The humour still worked due to the the visuals and mannerism of the hosts and challenges. Ben was not hated in Poland for revealing his identity, so it was a perfect break for him from the UK drama and a chance to get some on on screen experience (talking and reviewing)

@@kamilianos I know, I watched it all the time.

He had a lot of lines too. Some days you couldn't shut him up.

sarcasm? what lines...

@@vertsk8er419 No, we're being completely serious. Or not. 😄

Yeah same my favorite line is

@@vertsk8er419 It's a well known fact that the Stig had a team of writers working for him, and that he himself worked 12 hours most days just working on witticisms, jokes, anecdotes and soliloquys to perform on Top Gear. It's just that we could never hear them, because of the helmet. Still, such dedication!

Bet you that's his choice

I would want one as well and those are gonna go up in value

He said it took him years to save up for that and he didn't but it new, how much did they pay him? Clarkson and the boys all getting paid millions and driving around in new Ferraris and Ford GTs, sounds like a scandal to me. He was one of the main stars of the show!

@@cathalfolan8441 He prob just got a standard salary as a test driver

@@cathalfolan8441 he's just a test drive. And the stig can be anyone else not just him

@@luffyduy9227 yeah but for the majority of seasons it was him as far as I know. How many millions did they make selling t shirts with his helmet on them? It sounds to me like he was shafted.

When he drives crazy cars on trsck for a living road driving is probably more a chore than anything.

Race car drivers usually are sensible. They have seen all the speed most of mankind can see on land (besides top fuel dragsters) and are worn out by it, so theres no point of having a very very fast car in day to day driving. Some even prefer to get chauffeured or driven around instead.

In other words he knows what he is talking about

@@ridhwanramzi4773 I recall recent interviews with Verstappen and Riccardo. Both say they don't really speed or pursue fancy cars. Also why would they? They drive the pinnacle of technology for a living, road cars are purely utilitarian.

205 Rallye would be right up his street. Great little back roads car. I had a F Reg (89) 205 XS (85 bhp) in 1992 and it was a hoot. Chris Harris has a 205 Rallye. I bet they are hard to find. Funnily enough when I was living in Oxford in 1989/90 my mate had a fiesta supersport (W Reg (1980)) and he lent it to me for the weekend. I loved that car. I was only 19 and it was heaven blasting round in it. So thirty years later, I’ve got an E63 and he’s sold his Audi R8 and is getting a Tesla !! 🤣

Gta147

This

that or maybe an st150 or early st180

Aye, and about £30k+! Totally overpriced IMHO.

based on his description of the joys of Land Rover motoring, he should get an old Geo Metro with a coke can turbo and stock brakes

A New Dacia Sandero!

@@rda4577 Anyways.

I always believed it was a Suzuki swift

I had a pleasure driving throgh Mendip and the roads we great, but the rain and flooding made me a bit nervous from time to time. Would have been great in a 4x4 beater hatch.

And they beautiful 🤌🏼🤌🏼

That's a punchy statement Mr G - I have something else in my sights atm...

@@BenCollinsDrives ha, it may be punchy, but it’s also fairly arguable (I’m not a Honda fanboy either, just love an Integra). I’ll concede they’re probably not ideal daily drivers though, what with the short ‘box and limited soundproofing. Another hatch with awesome turn-in, even more lift-off and very little understeer is a 205GTi, albeit that might be a bit too old and too expensive now. If we’re continuing the slightly older FWD theme, I suspect you may still be thinking French - maybe something from the RenaultSport stable? If you loved your A3 maybe even a Leon Cupra? (those are a bit boring though in my humble opinion…)

@@BenCollinsDrives Sir, may I interest you in an Alpine A110 Litchfield? I know it's modern, and it isn't a hatch, but you've got to try it.

I'm no Honda fan boy either but my old 2001 Integra gsr was easily one of the most fun yet economical cars I ever owned.

Believe

Yup or Integra it's basicallyba hatch too

I love that he drove it till it died as well. Proper down to earth guy.

@@rhyswilliams4893 I can understand why. I won't be getting rid of mine anytime soon

I was hoping he will get a polo G40

@@jujitsujew23 if it's still running and you love it why would you!

My immediate thought was 205gt

I had 309 GTi back in the day and paid £450 for it. Best money I've ever spent on a car I love it

@@philpritt9626 That's great, would love to drive one!

You’ve also got the Peugeot 306 Gti-6 or the 306 Rally (a slightly lightened version of the Gti-6) 👌👌👍

@@SapphireSamC yes! And the 206 gti 180 (not great, but filthy cheap)

I was looking for this comment, my dish soap will do a better job