''Fifth Gear'' is a British motoring television magazine series on Discovery+. It is a continuation of the ''Fifth Gear'' format originally broadcast on Channel 5 from 2002 to 2011, afterwards moving to

Discovery Channel Discovery Channel (known as The Discovery Channel from 1985 to 1995, and often referred to as simply Discovery) is an American cable channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, a publicly traded company run by CEO David Zaslav. , Discovery Chan ...

in 2012, and then in 2015 to

History History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...

. Since its return in 2018, it has been broadcast on free-to-air channel

Quest A quest is a journey toward a specific mission or a goal. The word serves as a plot device in mythology and fiction: a difficult journey towards a goal, often symbolic or allegorical. Tales of quests figure prominently in the folklore of e ...

. The show is currently presented by

Vicki Butler-Henderson Victoria Jemma Butler-Henderson (born 16 February 1972) is a British racing driver, former presenter of ''Top Gear'' and current presenter of ''Fifth Gear''. Biography Butler-Henderson was born into a racing family. Her grandfather used to race ...

, Rory Reid, Karun Chandhok and

Jason Plato Timothy Jason Plato (born 14 October 1967) is a British racing driver who last competed in the British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) for BTC Racing. He has twice been BTCC Champion, in 2001 for Vauxhall and 2010 for Silverline Chevrolet. He ...

with Grace Webb and engineer Jimmy de Ville also involved in reports. Its former presenters include Jonny Smith, former racing driver Tiff Needell and Car SOS host Tim Shaw. It was relaunched as an electric cars format in 2021 as ''Fifth Gear Recharged''. ''Fifth Gear'' was first broadcast on 8 April 2002 as ''5th Gear'', and as a continuation of the original incarnation of the BBC show '' Top Gear'', which was cancelled in 2001. ''Top Gear'' was relaunched later that year; Channel 5 originally wanted to carry on using the ''Top Gear'' name, but the BBC refused as it still operated the ''Top Gear'' magazine. Several of ''Top Gear's'' ex-presenters, including Quentin Willson, Tiff Needell, and Vicki Butler-Henderson, were hired by Channel 5 to present the series. The show's name was restyled as ''Fifth Gear'' in 2005. Needell announced the show's second cancellation on 24 May 2016. On 14 June 2018, Needell announced on his official Twitter account that he had been doing some filming work for a new series of Fifth Gear which aired in September 2018 on

, but by 2019 had left the show to join Lovecars.com and their

ITV4 ITV4 is a British free-to-air television channel which was launched on 1 November 2005. It is owned by ITV Digital Channels, a division of ITV plc, and is part of the ITV network. The channel has a line-up that consists of sports, cult clas ...

programme ''On the Road''. Repeats of ''Fifth Gear'' also started being broadcast on

UKTV UKTV Media Limited, simply known as UKTV, is a British multi-channel broadcaster, which, since 2019, has been wholly owned by BBC Studios (formerly BBC Worldwide), a commercial subsidiary of the BBC. It was formed on 1 November 1992 throug ...

channel

Dave Dave may refer to: Film, television, and theater * ''Dave'' (film), a 1993 film starring Kevin Kline and Sigourney Weaver * ''Dave'' (musical), a 2018 stage musical adaptation of the film * Dave (TV channel), a digital television channel in the ...

in April 2008 and later on

Discovery Turbo Discovery Turbo (previously known as Discovery Turbo MAX in Australia) is a pay television channel devoted to programming about transport. It is similar to Discovery Velocity and Motor Trend (TV network), Motor Trend. It was also briefly availab ...

, with early episodes of the show being streamed '24/7' via the British feed of Pluto TV in 2019.

Format

The first seven series consisted of a 23-minute programme, not including approximately 7 minutes of adverts. The eighth series returned in the autumn of 2005 in a longer format of 45 minutes, and the ninth series (which went to a 13-week run) was increased to a one-hour airtime slot (approximately 46 minutes excluding adverts). For series 17, the show had reverted to the original format of 23 minutes, which including adverts takes the show to half an hour. In Series 21, the show reverted to the previous one-hour airtime slot.

Locations

At the start of series 10, the show introduced between-feature links filmed at the Ace Cafe in London. In previous series, these links were filmed at the production company offices in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the We ...

. Originally produced by

Chrysalis A pupa ( la, pupa, "doll"; plural: ''pupae'') is the life stage of some insects undergoing transformation between immature and mature stages. Insects that go through a pupal stage are holometabolous: they go through four distinct stages in thei ...

Television, the Birmingham offices were situated on the top floor of the headquarters of 100.7 Heart FM (also, at that time, a Chrysalis Radio company), near Birmingham's Five Ways area. The team moved out when Chrysalis sold its television division to All3Media in September 2003 (the section which later produced Fifth Gear is now known as North One Television, part of the All3Media group). In series 14, a location change from the Ace Cafe meant link sequences were filmed instead at the Millbrook Proving Ground, along with some of the vehicle testing features.

Presenter line-up

* Tiff Needell (2002–16, 2018) *

(2002–16, 2018–present) * Jonny Smith (2006–16, 2018–2019) *

(2004–14, 2018–present) * Tom Ford (2002–09) * Adrian Simpson (2002–06) * Quentin Willson (2002–04) * Rory Reid (2021–present) ;Short-lived stints In 2005, the show's producer, Jon Bentley, also became a part-time presenter for a year before he went back to being solely the producer. Tim Lovejoy was hired in September 2006 for series 9 and 10. In August 2008, Tim Shaw became a presenter on the show for series 14. In October 2010, Ben Collins, formerly '' The Stig'' on BBC's '' Top Gear'', came to ''Fifth Gear'' for series 18.

Shoot-outs

''Fifth Gear'' claimed to be 'world renowned' for its 'infamous' shoot-outs, between similarly priced, similarly powerful cars, or, recently, cars versus bikes. These shoot outs took place at the

Anglesey Circuit The Anglesey Circuit ( cy, Trac Môn) is a motor race track, racing circuit located in Ty Croes, Anglesey, Wales. It plays host to a variety of auto racing, motorsport events including car racing, motorcycle racing, car sprints, stage rallies a ...

on the Isle of

Anglesey Anglesey (; cy, (Ynys) Môn ) is an island off the north-west coast of Wales. It forms a principal area known as the Isle of Anglesey, that includes Holy Island across the narrow Cymyran Strait and some islets and skerries. Anglesey island ...

close to Aberffraw. During the refurbishment of Anglesey, shoot-outs were switched to

Castle Combe Circuit Castle Combe Circuit is a motor racing circuit in Wiltshire, England, approximately from Bristol. The circuit is based on the perimeter track of a former World War II airfield, and was opened for racing in 1950. History The Castle Combe a ...

2002 (Series 1 and 2)

* Ford Focus RS vs.

Honda Civic The is a series of automobiles manufactured by Honda since 1972. Since 2000, the Civic has been categorized as a compact car, while previously it occupied the subcompact class. , the Civic is positioned between the Honda Fit/City and Honda A ...

Type-R vs.

Seat León The SEAT León (), also spelled Leon in some other languages (named after the city of León, which also means "Lion" in Spanish), is a hatchback compact car built by the Spanish car manufacturer SEAT since October 1999.ETKA The first two Leó ...

Cupra R

2003 (Series 3 and 4)

BMW Z4 (E85) The first generation of the BMW Z4 consists of the BMW E85 (roadster version) and BMW E86 (coupe version) sports cars. The E85/E86 generation was produced from 2002 to 2008. The E85/E86 replaced the Z3 and is the third model in the BMW Z Ser ...

3.0i vs. Porsche Boxster *

Radical SR3 The Radical SR3 is a race and sports car produced by Radical Sportscars, which has been built in Peterborough since 2002. The vehicle is considered a further development of the Clubsport 1100. History Designed by race car designer Mike Pilbeam, ...

vs.

Ariel Atom The Ariel Atom is a road-legal high performance open-wheel car made by the British Ariel Motor Company based in Crewkerne, Somerset, England, and under license in North America by TMI Autotech, Inc. at Virginia International Raceway in Alton, ...

* Nissan 350Z vs. Audi TT 3.2 Quattro *

BMW M3 The BMW M3 is a high-performance version of the BMW 3 Series, developed by BMW's in-house motorsport division, BMW M GmbH. M3 models have been produced for every generation of 3 Series since the E30 M3 was introduced in 1986. The initial mode ...

CSL vs.

2004 (Series 5 and 6)

Citroën C2 The Citroën C2 is a supermini that was produced by the French manufacturer Citroën, with production starting August 2003. It replaced the Citroën Saxo and was built at the Aulnay plant, on the outskirts of Paris. The Citroën C2 was discontin ...

GT vs. Ford SportKa *

Ford Transit The Ford Transit is a family of light commercial vehicles manufactured by the Ford Motor Company since 1965, primarily as a cargo van, but also available in other configurations including a large passenger van (marketed as the Ford Tourneo in ...

125 T280 vs.

Mercedes-Benz Sprinter The Mercedes-Benz Sprinter is a light commercial vehicle (van) built by Mercedes-Benz Group AG of Stuttgart, Germany as a large van, chassis cab, minibus, and pickup truck. In the past, the Sprinter had been sold under the Mercedes-Benz, Dod ...

213CDI *

Škoda Fabia The Škoda Fabia is a supermini car produced by Czech manufacturer Škoda Auto since 1999. It is the successor of the Škoda Felicia, which was discontinued in 2001. The Fabia was available in hatchback, estate (named Fabia Combi) and saloon ...

vRS TDi vs. Mini Cooper * Lotus Elise 111R vs.

Vauxhall VX220 The Opel Speedster is a mid-engined, targa-topped, two-seat sports car sold by German automaker Opel and introduced in July 2000. It was built in both RHD and LHD versions at the Lotus Cars plant in Hethel, Norfolk, England. It was presented ...

Turbo

2005 (Series 7 and 8)

Ducati 999 The Ducati 999 is a sport bike made by Ducati from 2003 to 2006. It superseded the Massimo Tamburini designed Ducati 916, Ducati 996 and Ducati 998 range of superbikes. This motorcycle enjoyed great success in World Superbike, and was raced ...

vs. Lamborghini Gallardo *

Type-R vs. Renaultsport Clio 182 Cup *

Vauxhall Monaro The Holden Monaro ( ) is a rear-wheel drive coupé manufactured by General Motors Holden in Australia from 1968 to 1975 and later reintroduced from 2001 to 2005. It was also manufactured as a 4-door sedan from 1973 to 1977. Three generations of ...

VXR vs. MG ZT260 * MINI Cooper S Convertible vs. Smart Brabus Roadster Coupe * Mosler MT900S vs.

* Mercedes-Benz SL55 AMG vs.

Mercedes-Benz SLK55 AMG The second generation Mercedes-Benz SLK, internally designated model R171, is a two-passenger, front-engine, rear-drive, retractable hardtop roadster, unveiled at the 74th Geneva International Motor Show—and manufactured and marketed for m ...

* BMW X5 4.8is vs. Porsche Cayenne S * Noble M400 vs. Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VIII MR FQ-400 * Porsche 911 Carrera S vs. Lotus Exige 240R * Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VI GSR vs.

Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX The Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution, popularly referred to as the 'Evo', is a sports sedan and rally car based on the Lancer that was manufactured by Japanese manufacturer Mitsubishi Motors from 1992 until 2016. There have been ten official version ...

FQ-320 * Westfield XTR4 vs. Suzuki GSXR1000 *

Ford Fiesta The Ford Fiesta is a supermini car marketed by Ford since 1976 over seven generations. Over the years, the Fiesta has mainly been developed and manufactured by Ford's European operations, and has been positioned below the Escort (later the ...

ST150 vs. Mitsubishi Colt CZT *

Mazda RX-8 The Mazda RX-8 is a sports car manufactured by Japanese automobile manufacturer Mazda between 2002 and 2012. It was first shown in 2001 at the North American International Auto Show. It is the successor to the RX-7 and, like its predecessors i ...

vs. Alfa Romeo GT 3.2 V6 * Nissan 350Z vs. Audi TT Sport Quattro 240 * Mercedes-Benz CLS55 AMG vs.

Jaguar XJ The Jaguar XJ is a series of full-size luxury cars produced by British automobile manufacturer Jaguar Cars (becoming Jaguar Land Rover in 2013) from 1968 to 2019. It was produced across five basic platform generations (debuting in 1968, 1986, 1 ...

R * Subaru Legacy 3.0 R spec. B Sports Tourer vs. Volvo V50 T5 SE AWD * Lancia Delta Integrale vs.

e30.

2006 (Series 9 and 10)

* 2006 Mazda MX-5 vs. Mazda MX-5 MkI * Subaru Impreza WRX STi Type-UK vs. Subaru Forester STi *

Vauxhall Astra The Vauxhall Astra is a compact car/small family car (C-segment) that has been sold by Vauxhall since 1980. It is currently produced at Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, England. For its first two generations, the nameplate was applied to right-hand ...

VXR vs. Ford Focus ST * Mercedes-Benz A200T vs.

Toyota Corolla Verso The Toyota Corolla Verso is a car produced by the Japanese carmaker Toyota between 2001 and 2009. A compact MPV, the first-generation Corolla Verso sold in Europe was a rebadged Japanese market second-generation Corolla Spacio (E120), which was ...

T180 * BMW M6 vs. BMW M5 *

Škoda Octavia The Škoda Octavia is a small family car produced by the Czech car manufacturer Škoda Auto since the end of 1996. It shares its name with an earlier model produced between 1959 and 1971. Four generations of the modern-era Octavia model hav ...

vRS vs. Volkswagen Golf GTI * Volkswagen Golf R32 vs.

BMW 130i The BMW 1 Series is a range of subcompact executive cars (C-segment) manufactured by BMW since 2004. It is the successor to the BMW 3 Series Compact and is currently in its third generation. Positioned as the entry level model in BMW range of pro ...

M Sport * Nissan Navara vs.

Mitsubishi L200 The is a group of autonomous Japanese multinational companies in a variety of industries. Founded by Yatarō Iwasaki in 1870, the Mitsubishi Group historically descended from the Mitsubishi zaibatsu, a unified company which existed from 1870 ...

* Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX MR FQ-360 vs. Stunt Plane

2007 (Series 11 and 12)

* Renaultsport Clio 197 vs. Vauxhall Corsa VXR * Mini Cooper vs. Suzuki Swift Sport * White van Megane shoot-out: Renaultsport Megane 230 F1 Team R26 vs. Ford Transit Connect X-press * Hire car shoot-out: Vauxhall Astra 1.6 vs. Ford Focus 1.6 Zetec *

BMW 335i The fifth generation of the BMW 3 Series range of compact executive cars is designated under the model codes E90 (saloon), E91 (estate, marketed as 'Touring'), E92 (coupé) and E93 (convertible). The model was introduced in December 2004, and pr ...

vs.

Audi S5 The Audi S5 is one of two high-performance variants of Audi's A5. It is also the coupé, cabriolet, and five-door fastback sedan versions of the fourth-generation (B8) Audi S4 saloon and estate models. Like all Audi "S" cars, they are only av ...

* Honda Civic Type R (UK specification) vs. Honda Civic Type R (Japanese specification) * Audi TT 2.0T S-tronic vs. Audi TT 2.0T manual * Ford Gran Torino vs.

Dodge Charger The Dodge Charger is a model of automobile marketed by Dodge in various forms over seven generations since 1966. The first Charger was a show car in 1964. A 1965 Charger II concept car resembled the 1966 production version. The Charger has ...

2008 (Series 13)

* Week 1: Lotus Exige S 240 vs. Caterham CSR 260 Superlight * Week 2: Renaultsport Clio 197 vs. Rage Buggy R180RT * Week 3:

Vauxhall VXR8 The Vauxhall VXR8 is a performance car marketed by Vauxhall in the United Kingdom between 2007 and 2017, based on two different models produced by Holden Special Vehicles Holden Special Vehicles (HSV) was the officially designated performance ...

vs.

Lotus Carlton The Lotus Carlton (also called Vauxhall Lotus Carlton, Lotus Omega and Opel Lotus Omega) is a Vauxhall Carlton/Opel Omega A saloon upgraded by Lotus in order to be able to reach speeds up to 285 km/h (177 mph) with acceleration to e ...

* Week 4: VW Transporter Sportline vs. Mercedes-Benz Vito X * Week 5: Fiat Panda 100HP vs. Renault Twingo GT * Week 6: Mini One vs. Fiat 500 1.4 * Week 7: Ford Fiesta ST vs. Vauxhall Corsa SRi * Week 8: Porsche Cayenne GTS vs. BMW X5 4.8i * Week 9:

Volkswagen GTI The Volkswagen GTI models may refer to: * Volkswagen Gol GTI, a performance-oriented B-segment/supermini/ subcompact hatchback produced between 1989 and 1994 * Volkswagen Golf/Rabbit GTI, a performance-oriented C-segment/small family car/compact ...

vs. Subaru Impreza WRX * Week 10: Ford Escort RS Cosworth vs. Ford Focus RS

2009 (Series 14)

* Week 1: Mitsubishi Evo X FQ300 vs Subaru Impreza WRX STi * Week 2:

vs Nissan 350Z * Week 3: Volkswagen Passat R36 vs Audi A4 3.0 TDI * Week 4: Honda Civic Mugen RR vs Honda S2000 * Week 5: Vauxhall Astra Nurburgring vs Ford Focus ST * Week 7: MCW Metrobus vs MCW Metrobus

2010 (Series 17)

* Week 1: Ford Focus RS vs Renault Mégane Renault Sport vs VW Scirocco R * Week 3: Citroën DS3 DSport vs. Alfa Romeo MiTo Cloverleaf * Week 4: Nissan 370Z Roadster vs. BMW Z4 * Week 6: Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG (525 hp) vs. Audi RS6 * Week 8: Peugeot RCZ vs. Volkswagen Scirocco * Week 9:

Volkswagen Golf R The Volkswagen Golf (Mk7) is a small family car (C-segment) produced by German automobile manufacturer Volkswagen, as the seventh generation of the Golf and the successor to the Golf Mk6. It was introduced in Berlin on 4 September 2012, before ...

vs. SEAT León Cupra R

2010 (Series 18)

* Week 1:

Competition Pack vs. Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG Development Pack * Week 2:

Porsche Cayman Cayman may refer to * Cayman Islands, an overseas territory of the United Kingdom ** Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac, or Little Cayman, three islands that are part of the Cayman Islands * , a British frigate in service with the Royal Navy from 1944 to 19 ...

vs.

Lotus Evora The Lotus Evora is a sports car produced by British car manufacturer Lotus. The car, which was developed under the project name ''Project Eagle'', was launched on 22 July 2008 at the British International Motor Show. The Evora S was launched i ...

* Week 4: BMW 320d vs. Alpina D3 BiTurbo * Week 6:

Audi S4 The Audi S4 is the high performance variant of Audi's compact executive car A4. The original Audi S4, built from 1991 until 1994, was a performance-oriented version of Audi's 100 saloon/sedan. All subsequent S4s since 1997 have been based on t ...

vs.

Vauxhall Insignia An insignia () is a sign or mark distinguishing a group, grade, rank, or function. It can be a symbol of personal power or that of an official group or governing body. On its own, an insignia is a sign of a specific or general authority and is ...

VXR * Week 9: Honda CR-Z vs.

Citroen DS3 The DS 3 (formerly known as Citroën DS3 and DS 3 Crossback) is a luxury supermini initially produced by the French automobile manufacturer Citroën and officially launched in January 2010. This was the first and entry-level model from the DS ...

HDi

2011 (Series 19)

* Week 1: BMW 535d M Sport vs. Jaguar XF diesel S * Week 2:

Aston Martin Virage The Aston Martin Virage is an automobile produced by British luxury automobile manufacturer Aston Martin as a replacement for its V8 models. Introduced at the Birmingham Motor Show in 1988, it was joined by the high-performance Vantage in 199 ...

GTS,

. Tiff tries to break a record in a 911. Jason reviews a Saab 9–5. * Week 3:

Ferrari FF The Ferrari FF (Type F151) (FF meaning "Ferrari Four", for four seats and four-wheel drive) is a grand tourer presented by Italian automobile manufacturer Ferrari on March 1, 2011, at the Geneva Motor Show as a successor to the 612 Scaglietti gr ...

, BMW 535D M-Sport, Jaguar XF, Nissan Micra. Jason goes drag racing in Abu Dhabi. * Week 4:

Nissan GTR The Nissan GT-R (Japanese: 日産・GT-R, ''Nissan GT-R''), is a high-performance sports car and grand tourer produced by Nissan, unveiled in 2007. It is the successor to the Nissan Skyline GT-R, Skyline GT-R, a high performance variant of the ...

vs. Porsche 911 Turbo S * Week 5: Porsche 911 Carrera vs. Lotus Evora S * Week 6: Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG, Aston Martin V8 Vantage S, Lexus CT200h. Tiff and Jason race in hovercraft. * Week 7: BMW 1 M, Ford Focus Titanium,

Jaguar E-Type The Jaguar E-Type, or the Jaguar XK-E for the North American market, is a British sports car that was manufactured by Jaguar Cars Ltd between 1961 and 1974. Its combination of beauty, high performance, and competitive pricing established the m ...

, Allard J2X * Week 8: McLaren MP4-12C vs. Ferrari 458 Italia * Week 9: Lamborghini Gallardo Performante,

Volkswagen Phaeton The Volkswagen Phaeton ( ) (''Typ'' 3D) is a full-size luxury sedan/saloon manufactured by the German automobile manufacturer Volkswagen, described by Volkswagen as their "premium class" vehicle. Introduced at the 2002 Geneva Motor Show, th ...

, Porsche Cayman R, Smart Roadster, Audi A2 TDi, Honda Insight. Jonny shows us 3 of the cheapest to run cars in existence. * Week 10:

GTS,

Porsche 911 GT3 RS The Porsche 911 GT3 is a high-performance homologation model of the Porsche 911 sports car. It is a line of high-performance models, which began with the 1973 911 Carrera RS. The GT3 has had a successful racing career in the one-make national ...

, Piaggo MP3 Yourban (three wheeled scooter). Highlights from the last 10 years.

2011 (Series 20)

* Week 1: The presenters conduct a crash test. They also compare two of the most powerful Jaguars ever made. They also take a look at the

Range Rover Evoque The Land Rover Range Rover Evoque (generally known simply as the Range Rover Evoque) is a subcompact luxury crossover SUV developed and produced by Jaguar Land Rover, a British car manufacturer, under their Land Rover marque. The original Evo ...

. * Week 2: Tiff chats to British rally driver Mark Higgins. The presenters take a look at a new Mercedes convertible. Vicki races a new

Ford Mustang The Ford Mustang is a series of American automobiles manufactured by Ford. In continuous production since 1964, the Mustang is currently the longest-produced Ford car nameplate. Currently in its sixth generation, it is the fifth-best selli ...

around

Le Mans Le Mans (, ) is a city in northwestern France on the Sarthe River where it meets the Huisne. Traditionally the capital of the province of Maine, it is now the capital of the Sarthe department and the seat of the Roman Catholic diocese of Le ...

. Jonny begins a journey of a lifetime in a very unlikely car. * Week 3: Tiff test drives the Lamborghini's new Aventador hypercar. Vicki makes her way through Italy's snowy mountain roads in Mini's brand new coupe. Jonny finds out about vehicle wrapping. * Week 4: Vicki makes her way to Italy to drive a new convertible version of the Ferrari 458. Tiff takes part in a shootout between two ultra-powerful coupes. The team test drive the most economical car available. * Week 5: Tiff takes a look at the last ever Porsche 911. Vicki travels to Portugal where she takes on the role of a beach lifeguard in a brand new VW pick-up truck. Jonny attempts to make Renault's battery powered car go as far as possible on one charge. * Week 6: Jonny finds the best driving road in the world. Vicki takes the new VW Amarok pick-up for a test drive on a beach in Portugal. The driving skills of Roy Keane are tested by Tiff at the

Nürburgring The is a 150,000 person capacity motorsports complex located in the town of Nürburg, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It features a Grand Prix race track built in 1984, and a long "North loop" track, built in the 1920s, around the village a ...

. The presenters take a look at the new Volkswagen Golf Cabriolet. * Week 7: Tiff takes a drive through France's

Champagne region The wine region within the historical province of Champagne in the northeast of France is best known for the production of champagne, the sparkling white wine that bears the region's name. EU law and the laws of most countries reserve the term ...

Aston Martin Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings PLC is an English manufacturer of luxury sports cars and grand tourers. Its predecessor was founded in 1913 by Lionel Martin and Robert Bamford. Steered from 1947 by David Brown, it became associated wi ...

's newest convertible. Vicki is the umpire in a race between two England cricket stars. Jonny takes a look at two off-road bargains to help see us through the winter. * Week 8: The presenters get the chance to drive the latest version of the Jeep. Cricket legend Jimmy Anderson is put through his paces around the gruelling

race track by Tiff. * Week 9: Vicki drives through the

Pyrenees The Pyrenees (; es, Pirineos ; french: Pyrénées ; ca, Pirineu ; eu, Pirinioak ; oc, Pirenèus ; an, Pirineus) is a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. It extends nearly from its union with the Cantabrian Mountains to ...

in the new BMW M5. Jonny travels to

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

to take a look at the

Seat A seat is a place to sit. The term may encompass additional features, such as back, armrest, head restraint but also headquarters in a wider sense. Types of seat The following are examples of different kinds of seat: * Armchair, a chair ...

's new city car. Tiff is joined by rally driver Mark Higgins to test drive Renault's new hatchback. * Week 10: Jonny takes a look at some exciting cars at the LA Auto Show.

Ian Botham Ian Terence Botham, Baron Botham, (born 24 November 1955) is an English cricket commentator, member of the House of Lords, a former cricketer who has been chairman of Durham County Cricket Club since 2017 and charity fundraiser. Hailed as on ...

is taught how to drive around the legendary

racing track. Vicki learns some evasive driving techniques from the police who chauffeur the Royal Family.

2012 (Series 21)

* Week 1: Tiff tests the Porsche 911 Carrera S. Jonny Smith gets a high-speed truck rally driving lesson and the team also test a

Volkswagen Beetle The Volkswagen Beetle—officially the Volkswagen Type 1, informally in German (meaning "beetle"), in parts of the English-speaking world the Bug, and known by many other nicknames in other languages—is a two-door, rear-engine economy car, ...

. Jason invites

Suzi Perry Suzi Perry (born 3 May 1970) is a British television presenter, currently covering MotoGP for BT Sport. She is best known for covering MotoGP for the BBC for 13 years, ''The Gadget Show'' on Channel 5 for 8 years and the BBC's Formula One covera ...

to test, if you tweak ECU, change tyres etc. have better time. Vicki is on a mission to refill during driving. * Week 2: Jason and Tiff test Mercedes SLS AMG against an Aston Martin, a Jaguar and a Bentley. Johnny goes to Sweden to drive new Audi A1 quattro with Stig Blomqvist. * Week 3: Vicki tests the dynamic performance management system in the

Lotus Exige S The Lotus Exige is a British two-door, two-seat sports car made by Lotus Cars since 2000. Originally a more-hardcore coupé version of the Lotus Elise roadster, since the Series 3 the Exige has been the larger-engined model of the family - ...

against ex-Lotus F1 driver Karun Chandhok. Tiff conducts an investigation into the advantages of electronic stability control (ESC) and Jonny Smith recommends some used cars with ESC fitted as standard. Team test of the Suzuki Swift Sport. Jonny tests sat-navs at three price levels. Vicki attends the Monaco Motor Show and drives the Fisker Karma on the Grand Prix track as well as a Hunton XRS 43 powerboat. * Week 4: Tiff takes to the Italian F1 circuit in the hope of qualifying for the Lamborghini Series, and the team reports whether different types of petrol affect a car's performance. * Week 5: Team test: Mini Cooper convertible. Tiff tries drifting with new Bentley Continental GT. Vicki goes to Gordon Murray's home to see his history of designing and presents his first electric car, the T27. Jason goes to

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its ...

to drive formula off-road with 2009 champion Hafsteinn Thorvaldsson. Jonny learns how to wash a Rolls-Royce Ghost EWB. * Week 6: Tiff celebrates the

Ferrari F40 The Ferrari F40 (''tipo'' F120) is a mid-engine, rear-wheel drive sports car engineered by Nicola Materazzi with styling by Pininfarina. It was built from 1987 until 1992, with the LM and GTE race car versions continuing production until 199 ...

's 25th birthday, Jason pits the Mercedes C63 AMG Black Series against its BMW rival and Vicki drives a new Land Rover. * Week 7: Jonny takes a behind-the-scenes look at the

Isle of Man TT The Isle of Man TT or Tourist Trophy races are an annual motorcycle racing event run on the Isle of Man in May/June of most years since its inaugural race in 1907. The event is often called one of the most dangerous racing events in the world ...

motorcycle race with John McGuinness, and the Subaru BRZ sports car is tested around the circuit. Tiff searches for his top three car racing games, Vicki tests the Renault Twizy, and the team test the Ford Focus Ecoboost 1.0 to see if it's more powerful than the 1.6 version. * Week 8: Jonny examines the new Ferrari California, while Vicki explores the world of motorbike speedway in Denmark. * Week 9: Jonny heads to Sweden for an American car show, Tiff tests the KTM X-Bow R trackday car, Jason explores affordable ways to upgrade a car stereo for better sound, and Vicki relives her

karting Kart racing or karting is a road racing variant of motorsport with open-wheel, four-wheeled vehicles known as go-karts or shifter karts. They are usually raced on scaled-down circuits, although some professional kart races are also held on ...

memories with a race.

2013 (Series 22)

* Week 1: Vicki in the new Porsche Boxster S against a jet plane, Tiff tests the difference between used and new tyres. Jonny goes to Trollstigen to test Ford Focus ST. Jason tests

Audi S8 The Audi S8 is a full-size luxury car of the Audi S models produced by the German automaker Audi AG, manufactured by Audi Sport GmbH at the Neckarsulm plant. The S8 is the mechanically-upgraded, high-performance version of the Audi A8, fitte ...

. * Week 2: Jason tests the brand new Pagani Huayra, Tiff tests the new

Porsche 911 The Porsche 911 (pronounced ''Nine Eleven'' or in german: Neunelfer) is a two-door 2+2 high performance rear-engined sports car introduced in September 1964 by Porsche AG of Stuttgart, Germany. It has a rear-mounted flat-six engine and ori ...

cabriolet to find out if it's quicker than the Audi R8 Spyder. Vicki tests a super car off roader. Johny reveals the three classic cars that could be a better investment than gold. * Week 3: Vicki in the brand new Porsche Panamera GTS against the all-new Mercedes CLS 63, both cars are tested to the limit. Jason tests a brand new supercar made in the Netherlands. Johny spends a night in the Swiss alps to demonstrate how your car can keep you alive. Tiff tests the Frontline MG LE50. * Week 4: Tiff and rally driver

Kris Meeke Kris Meeke (born 2 July 1979) is a Northern Irish professional rally driver, best known for competing in the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC). He was the 2009 Intercontinental Rally Challenge champion. His co-driver is Seb Marshall, also ...

find the ultimate hot hatch ( VW Golf GTI vs Renault Sport Megane vs Ford Focus ST vs Astra VXR), Vicki is in Germany to test the Audi RS 4, Jonny finds out how the world's most powerful simulator has become F1's secret weapon. Jason reveals the ultimate secondhand sports car you can buy on a budget. * Week 5: Jonny jumps into the world of professional drifting, the team test the Audi S7 to the extreme, Vicki takes part in a world record attempt: the largest parade of Ferraris, Tiff tests filling tyres with nitrogen and Jason tests the new Mercedes SL. * Week 6: Vicki races rally driver Andreas Mikkelsen in three speed challenges, Jason tests the new BMW M6, Tiff finds out what the ultimate small car is and Jonny shows the essential DIY skills that will allow you to save money. * Week 7: Vicki tests the new Ferrari F12 Berlinetta, Jonny attempts to become the fastest drag race passenger, Tiff and Jason race each other in a dog fight find to find out which of the latest entry level hot hatches is the greatest, and the team test the latest car safety systems. * Week 8: Vicki visits

Pininfarina Pininfarina S.p.A. (short for Carrozzeria Pininfarina) is an Italian car design firm and coachbuilder, with headquarters in Cambiano, Turin, Italy. The company was founded by Battista "Pinin" Farina in 1930. On 14 December 2015, the Indian ...

headquarters in Italy and tests the Maserati GranTurismo MC Stradale, Jonny tests the modern-day Morgan three-wheeler, while Jason looks for the best

Bluetooth Bluetooth is a short-range wireless technology standard that is used for exchanging data between fixed and mobile devices over short distances and building personal area networks (PANs). In the most widely used mode, transmission power is limi ...

gadget to use while driving together with Suzi Perry. * Week 9: Tiff takes on Sabine Schmitz in a battle between the Porsche 911 and the BMW M6, Jason tests the new Morgan Plus 8, Vicki goes off-road with the latest version of the Range Rover Evoque and Jonny is in the lab to test fuel saving gadgets.

2013 (Series 23)

* Week 1: Tiff and Jason test the Mercedes-Benz SL63 AMG, the Audi R8 V10 Spyder and the

Maserati GranCabrio The Maserati GranTurismo and GranCabrio are a series of a grand tourers produced by the Italian automobile manufacturer Maserati. They succeeded the 2-door V8 grand tourers offered by the company, the Maserati Coupé, and Spyder. GranTurismo I ( ...

to the limit to find out which is the best super cabrio on the market, the team test the new Range Rover Autobiography, Vicki races the BMW M135i against world super bike rider Chaz Davies on the BMW HP4 and Jonny drives 1000 km in Europe's cheapest car, the Dacia Sandero. * Week 2: Vicki and Tiff go head to head with the Renault Sport Megane 265 vs the Toyota GT86. Jason turns car doctor for the day as he tries to bring a tired engine back to full health. Jonny tests the Jaguar F-Type in Spain. The team test the Mazda6. * Week 3: Tiff tests the McLaren 12C Spider, Jonny investigates the secret world of crash testing, the team test the brand new Volkswagen Golf, Jason and Finnish double world champion rally driver

Marcus Grönholm Marcus Ulf Johan Grönholm (born February 5, 1968) is a Finnish former rally and rallycross driver, being part of a family of the Swedish-speaking population of Finland lineage. His son, Niclas Grönholm, is an upcoming FIA World Rallycross Cha ...

pitch two brand new Porsche Caymans head-to-head in an automatic vs manual gearbox battle. * Week 4: Tiff is in Los Angeles to reveal the latest petrol head craze: "Restomodding" and tests Magnus Walker's 1972 Porsche 911 STR, an Icon

Toyota Land Cruiser The (also sometimes spelled as LandCruiser) is a series of four-wheel drive vehicles produced by the Japanese automobile manufacturer Toyota. It is Toyota's longest running series of models. , the sales of the Land Cruiser totalled more than ...

FJ, and a Singer Porsche 911, Jason tests the new

Aston Martin Vanquish The Aston Martin Vanquish is a high-performance grand tourer introduced by British luxury automobile manufacturer Aston Martin in 2001 as a successor to the Aston Martin Vantage (1993). The Aston Martin "V12 Vanquish," designed by Ian Callum ...

with Brazilian racing driver

Bruno Senna Bruno Senna Lalli (, born 15 October 1983) is a Brazilian professional racing driver. He is the nephew of the late Ayrton Senna, three-time Formula One world champion. He is also the first man to win a race in every WEC class, and was the 2017 ...

, Vicki tests the latest safety gadgets: dashboard cameras and the team test the brand new

Mercedes-Benz A-Class The Mercedes-Benz A-Class is a subcompact car produced by the German automobile manufacturer Mercedes-Benz as the brand's entry-level vehicle. The first generation (internally coded W168) was introduced in 1997, the second generation (W169) i ...

. * Week 5: Jason and Tiff test three brand new hot hatches: the Renault Sport Clio 200, the Peugeot 208 GTi and the Ford Fiesta ST, Vicki tests the new Donkervoort D8 GTO, the team test the brand new Jaguar XF Sportbreak, Jonny is at Bentley's HQ and tests the Bentley Mulsanne. * Week 6: Tiff and Sabine Schmitz test the Caterham 7 Supersport R, the Morgan three-wheeler and the

3.5. Jason tests the Mercedes-Benz G63 AMG, Vicki competes in a track day with a

Peugeot 205 GTi Peugeot (, , ) is a French brand of automobiles owned by Stellantis. The family business that preceded the current Peugeot companies was founded in 1810, with a steel foundry that soon started making hand tools and kitchen equipment, and then ...

and the team test the new Hyundai Veloster Turbo.

Team Test

In Series 19, a new segment was introduced, called the Team Test. This is where

Tiff Tag Image File Format, abbreviated TIFF or TIF, is an image file format for storing raster graphics images, popular among graphic artists, the publishing industry, and photographers. TIFF is widely supported by scanning, faxing, word process ...

Jason Jason ( ; ) was an ancient Greek mythological hero and leader of the Argonauts, whose quest for the Golden Fleece featured in Greek literature. He was the son of Aeson, the rightful king of Iolcos. He was married to the sorceress Medea. He ...

Jonny Jonny is a masculine given name, and pet name, in the English language. A pet form of Jon, the natural diminutive of given name Jonathan, in some cases it can also mean a condom. A variant form of ''Jonny'' is '' Jonnie''. People with the name ...

and Vicki all did a group test on an important new car. They all scored the car out of 10, and added their scores together to get the score for the car.

2009 cancellation and return

Channel 5 executives had been quoted as saying, "Five is proud of Fifth Gear's contribution to the channel but after 16 series, feels it's time to try something new." On 27 November 2009,

Jeremy Clarkson Jeremy Charles Robert Clarkson (born 11 April 1960) is an English broadcaster, journalist, game show host and writer who specialises in motoring. He is best known for the motoring programmes '' Top Gear'' and '' The Grand Tour'' alongside R ...

mentioned on '' The Chris Moyles Show'' that it was a shame that ''Fifth Gear'' had been cancelled. In late December 2009, however, presenter Jonny Smith suggested via

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

that the show could return for another series early in 2010. On 8 January 2010, Smith tweeted: "Fifth Gear IS coming back!", and in his next tweet, he said "Wow, such quick responses! Basically, we all know there's room for two car TV shows. FG will simply be a reviews based visual car magazine." Tiff Needell also tweeted saying "Home to the news that, after much negotiating Fifth Gear looks like it will after all be returning to your screens sometime in the Spring!" and also hinted the show will have a new format in his next tweet "Glad so many of you are delighted by the Fifth Gear news — and, yes the format will be moving away from the stupid ... but still having fun!" On 17 January 2010,

and Tiff Needell confirmed at the Autosport International Show that ''Fifth Gear'' will be returning in Spring 2010. The pair featured a car shootout in ''Fifth Gear'' style in the live arena show and said several times to the audience that the show would be back on air in Spring and to ignore the cancellation rumours. The series started on 3 June 2010. The series ran for 10 episodes and the first one had Lewis Hamilton as a guest. On 1 October 2010, it was announced that Ben Collins (who played the original White Stig on ''Top Gear'') would join the show.

Second cancellation and return

On 14 May 2016, Tiff Needell announced the cancellation of ''Fifth Gear'' following its last episode repeat airing on

. Following a three year hiatus, Needell announced the show's return on 14 June 2018, having started filming for a new series to be aired in September 2018 on the

Discovery Discovery may refer to: * Discovery (observation), observing or finding something unknown * Discovery (fiction), a character's learning something unknown * Discovery (law), a process in courts of law relating to evidence Discovery, The Discove ...

-operated

TV channel. Fifth Gear is now being broadcast in the United States on the MotorTrend channel. Season 27 started on February 15 (episode 2, but episodes 1 and 3 are scheduled on Feb. 22nd).

''Fifth Gear Recharged''

In 2021, the show was relaunched as an electric car show under the amended title of ''Fifth Gear Recharged''. Former ''Top Gear'' presenter Rory Reid, joined the presenting team of Vicky Butler Henderson, Jason Plato and Karun Chandhok (with the former Formula One driver and Sky F1 pundit now being part of the core presenting team and not a guest), while consumer journalist Grace Webb and engineer Jimmy de Ville will contribute to the show in guest roles (Jonny Smith has left the series to present ''The Late Brake Show'' webshow). As well as testing purely electric cars such as the Cupra Born, Hyundai Ioniq 5, Polestar 2 and ATAE Munro Mark 1, the show will also feature hybrids such as the Peugeot 508 PSE.

Episodes

The ''Fifth Gear'' Awards

Each year for a few series, the programme gives out various '' Car of the Year'' type awards:

2004

* Best small car – BMW 1 series * Best family car – Ford Focus * Best fast car – Porsche 911 Carrera S * Car of the year – Volkswagen Golf GTI

2005

* Best small car – Ford Fiesta ST * Best family car –

* Best fast car – BMW M5 * Car of the year – Porsche Boxster

2006

* Best small car –

Mini Cooper S The Mini is a small, two-door, four-seat car, developed as ADO15, and produced by the British Motor Corporation (BMC) and its successors, from 1959 through 2000. Minus a brief hiatus, original Minis were built for four decades and sold during ...

* Best family car – Ford S-Max * Best fast car – Chevrolet Corvette Z06 * Car of the year – Audi TT

2007

* Best small car – Fiat 500 * Best family car –

Ford Mondeo The Ford Mondeo is a large family car manufactured by Ford since 1993. The first Ford model declared as a " world car", the Mondeo was intended to consolidate several Ford model lines worldwide (the European Sierra, the Telstar in Asia and Aus ...

* Best fast car – Audi R8 * Car of the year – Audi R8

Comparison with ''Top Gear''

''Fifth Gear'' is a continuation of the original BBC ''Top Gear''. At its launch, ''Fifth Gear'' had the same format and topics as ''Top Gear'', also with long-time ''Top Gear'' presenters Needell and Willson, as well as Butler-Henderson and Simpson. The '' Top Gear'' reboot however was a drastically different format compared to ''Fifth Gear'' and the old ''Top Gear''. The new ''Top Gear'' has a strong focus on comedy and general entertainment by comparison. ''Fifth Gear'' has been referenced in ''Top Gear'', such as in series 10 after a barn fire damaged ''Top Gear'' property,

satirically claimed that ''Fifth Gear'' "burned our furniture."

Accidents

During recording for Series 12, Episode 7, two accidents took place while on set. * On 27 September 2007, Tom Ford broke his foot and several toes when he crashed a modified Bedford Rascal van. Tom Ford was recording a piece about drifting. He and co-host Jonny Smith were racing each other in a D1 Grand Prix style around a private track. After winning the event, Ford was performing a victory drift that went wrong, put his van (painted to resemble the A-Team GMC Van) up on two wheels and into a safety barrier. * On 9 October 2007, BTCC driver

suffered multiple burns when a

Caparo T1 The Caparo T1 is a British mid-engine, rear-wheel drive, two-seat automobile that was built by Caparo Vehicle Technologies, founded by design director Ben Scott-Geddes, engineering director Graham Halstead, engineers formerly involved in the ...

he was driving at Bruntingthorpe proving ground burst into flames.''Plato injured as Caparo T1 bursts into flames''
Crash.net News — Accessed 10 October 2007 The car, capable of , burst into flames at an estimated . Plato said: "There was a slight loss of power, I looked in the mirror and saw some smoke, there was a slight smell of oil and then suddenly there was this intense heat. The car spontaneously erupted into a ball of flames and I was sat in the middle of a fireball." The presenter was initially taken to Market Harborough and District Hospital by former BTCC driver Phil Bennett before being treated at Kettering General Hospital. He later received specialist burns treatment at Stoke Mandeville Hospital. The incident was mentioned during ''Top Gear''s discussion of the Caparo T1 the next year. Both accidents were shown on the episode.

International airings

''Fifth Gear'' has been broadcast on the

Speed Channel Speed was an American sports-oriented cable and satellite television network that was owned by the Fox Sports Media Group division of 21st Century Fox. The network was dedicated to motorsports programming, including auto racing, as well as au ...

in the United States for a short period in 2004 to early 2007. It began airing on

Velocity Velocity is the directional speed of an object in motion as an indication of its rate of change in position as observed from a particular frame of reference and as measured by a particular standard of time (e.g. northbound). Velocity i ...

on Wednesdays after '' Wheeler Dealers'' as of 3 October 2012. ''Fifth Gear'' began broadcasting in Australia in November 2009, on

Seven Network The Seven Network (commonly known as Channel Seven or simply Seven) is a major Australian commercial free-to-air Television broadcasting in Australia, television network. It is owned by Seven West Media, Seven West Media Limited, and is one of ...

free-to-air Free-to-air (FTA) services are television (TV) and radio services broadcast in unencrypted form, allowing any person with the appropriate receiving equipment to receive the signal and view or listen to the content without requiring a subscripti ...

digital channel

7mate 7mate is an Australian free-to-air digital television multichannel, which was launched by the Seven Network on 25 September 2010. The channel contains sport and regular programs aimed primarily to a male audience, with programming drawn from a ...

(previously shown on 7Two). ''Fifth Gear'' started Canadian broadcast on Discovery Channel Canada in 2008, beginning with 2006 series. This version ran in half-hour format. ''Fifth Gear'' was also telecasted in Asia-Pacific in Discovery Turbo. It aired the 60 minute version.

References

External links

Fifth Gear
at

* * {{IMDb title, id=0324679, title=Fifth Gear Channel 5 (British TV channel) original programming Speed (TV network) original programming ITV (TV network) original programming Automotive television series 2002 British television series debuts 2010s British television series 2020s British television series Driving in the United Kingdom Television series by All3Media Top Gear English-language television shows Discovery Channel original programming