It’s been over a decade since Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, and James May sat in that drafty Dunsfold hangar for the nineteenth time, but Series 19 Top Gear still hits different. Honestly, it was a weirdly pivotal moment for the show. By 2013, the "Three Amigos" weren't just car journalists anymore; they were global megastars, and the budget reflected that. You could feel the shift.
The show was massive.
The chemistry was peak.
But looking back, you can also see the cracks starting to form in the armor. This was the era of the Africa Special, the arrival of the Kia Cee'd replacement, and that controversial moment in the United States that everyone remembers for the wrong reasons. It wasn't just a car show; it was a cultural phenomenon that was starting to get a bit too big for its own boots.
The Africa Special and the Search for the Nile
If you ask any casual fan about Series 19 Top Gear, they aren’t going to talk about the Pagani Huayra lap time. They’re going to talk about the station wagons in Africa. This two-part special, which closed out the series, remains one of the most-watched pieces of television in the BBC’s history. The premise was classic Top Gear: find the source of the River Nile using three deeply inappropriate, second-hand estates.
Clarkson chose a BMW 528i, May went with a Volvo 850R, and Hammond—predictably—picked a Subaru Impreza WRX Estate.
What made this special work wasn't just the scenery or the breakdown of the cars. It was the genuine misery. You see it in James May's face when he's trying to sleep in the back of a Volvo while a literal monsoon is happening outside. There’s a specific kind of authenticity in those early-2010s specials that the later, more heavily scripted seasons lacked. They actually found a "source" of the Nile (or at least, a very convincing one), and the shot of those three beat-up cars parked on the hill overlooking the water is still one of the most iconic images in the franchise.
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The Subaru was the star, though. It basically proved that if you want to cross a continent, you don't need a Land Cruiser; you just need a flat-four engine and a bit of rally heritage.
That Pagani Huayra Controversy
Early in the series, we saw the Pagani Huayra take to the track. It was beautiful. It was terrifying. It was also incredibly fast. When The Stig took it around the Dunsfold circuit, it clocked a 1:13.8, which was—at the time—the fastest lap ever recorded on the show.
Then the internet happened.
Eagle-eyed viewers on forums like FinalGear and Reddit started pointing out that the Huayra used for the lap was wearing hand-cut slick tires, rather than the standard Pirelli P Zero Corsas it was supposed to be sold with. People were furious. They felt cheated. It was one of the first times the show’s "honesty" regarding performance testing was publicly called into question on a massive scale. The show’s producers eventually clarified things, but it left a bit of a sour taste for the purists who actually cared about the power lap board.
The Toyota GT86 and a Return to Basics
Episode three of Series 19 Top Gear gave us something we desperately needed: a celebration of a car that normal people could actually buy. Clarkson’s review of the Toyota GT86 (and its twin, the Subaru BRZ) is often cited as one of his best "pure" car reviews. He wasn't blowing things up or racing a jet; he was just sliding a small, underpowered coupe around a track and grinning like a schoolboy.
He famously noted that the tires on the GT86 were the same ones used on a Toyota Prius. That was the point. It wasn't about grip; it was about the lack of it. It reminded the audience that Top Gear actually knew what made a car fun, even when there wasn't a million-dollar price tag attached.
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The Epic Race: Shelby Mustang vs. The Train
We can't talk about this series without the race from Wembley to San Siro in Milan. This was the classic format: Clarkson in a car, Hammond and May on public transport. The car was the 2013 Shelby Mustang GT500. 662 horsepower. A live rear axle. In Europe.
It was a ridiculous choice for a cross-continental dash.
Watching Clarkson struggle with the Mustang's thirst for fuel while Hammond and May navigated the hyper-efficient (and incredibly fast) European rail network was peak entertainment. It highlighted the sheer absurdity of American muscle cars in an old-world context. The finish was genuinely close, too. Or at least, the editors made it look that way. That's the thing about this era of the show—the "race" was a narrative device, but the footage was so gorgeous you didn't really care if it was slightly staged.
Jeremy's "P45" and the BBC Friction
One of the more bizarre segments was the P45—the world’s smallest "car" that Jeremy "designed" and drove around a library and onto the streets of London. It was funny, sure. But in hindsight, naming a car after the UK's redundancy notice (the P45 form) felt like a bit of a wink to the camera.
Tensions between the trio and the BBC management were already simmering. They were pushing the boundaries of what a "public service broadcaster" should be doing with its budget. The P45 segment was pure silliness, but it also showed the level of creative freedom—or perhaps, lack of oversight—the team had at the time. They could spend thousands of pounds building a fiberglass suit with an engine just for a ten-minute gag.
Why it Still Ranks So High
If you look at IMDB or fan polls, Series 19 consistently ranks near the top. Why? It’s because it hit the "Goldilocks Zone." The production values had caught up to the ambition, but the presenters hadn't yet become caricatures of themselves.
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In later series, the "scriptedness" became jarring. You could see the jokes coming a mile away. In Series 19, the banter still felt somewhat spontaneous. When James May got annoyed, he seemed genuinely annoyed. When Hammond crashed something, the panic felt real.
The Guest List
The Star in a Reasonably Priced Car segment featured some heavy hitters this year:
- Damian Lewis: Hot off the success of Homeland.
- James Wentworth-Miller: From Prison Break.
- Mick Fleetwood: Yes, that Mick Fleetwood.
- Amy Macdonald: Who actually turned out to be a massive petrolhead.
It’s easy to forget how much of a "must-stop" Top Gear was for celebrities on a press tour. It was the biggest show in the world, and Series 19 was the proof of that.
Misconceptions About the "Scripting"
A lot of people think everything in Series 19 was fake. That’s not quite right. While the "challenges" were structured—the producers obviously knew where the film crews needed to be—the mechanical failures were often very real. The BMW 528i in Africa actually had a nightmare of a time with its cooling system. The roads were genuinely terrible. The reality of Top Gear was that they created a sandbox and then let the three idiots play in it. The "script" was more of a roadmap than a line-by-line dialogue.
Key Takeaways for Fans
If you're going back to rewatch this series, or if you're a new fan wondering what the fuss is about, keep an eye on these specific details:
- The Cinematography: This was the series where they really started using high-end color grading. The Africa Special looks like a feature film.
- The Transition: Notice the shift from the Kia Cee'd to the Vauxhall Astra as the Reasonably Priced Car. It marked the end of an era for the "Cee-apostrophe-d" jokes.
- The Bentley Continental GT Speed: The rally stage segment with this car is a masterclass in "destructive" car testing. Seeing a luxury land-yacht being thrashed through the woods is peak Top Gear.
How to Experience Series 19 Today
You can't just find these episodes on every streaming platform due to complex licensing deals with the BBC and the music used in the original broadcasts. Often, the versions on Netflix or iPlayer have the music swapped out, which actually changes the "vibe" of the show quite a bit. If you can find the original DVD releases or the "un-edited" digital versions, do it. The soundtrack—using everything from Brian Eno to The Killers—was a huge part of why the show felt so cinematic.
Actionable Next Steps
- Watch the Africa Special (Part 1 and 2): It represents the pinnacle of the "travelogue" format that would eventually define The Grand Tour.
- Compare the GT86 Review to Modern Cars: Watch Clarkson's review of the Toyota GT86 in Episode 3 and then look at how modern car reviewers talk about its successor, the GR86. It shows how the "driver-focused" philosophy has evolved.
- Check the Lap Times: Look at the current "Power Lap" board (if you can find an archived version) and see where the Huayra stands. It’s a fascinating look at how quickly supercar technology moved between 2013 and 2020.
- Listen for the Music: If you’re a nerd for production, try to identify the tracks used in the Shelby Mustang race. The BBC’s "blanket license" allowed them to use incredible music that most US shows could never afford.