Is Top Gear's Stig REALLY F1 ace Michael Schumacher?

Thank you for the link Carlo!

 

Me too. I was really pleased to see the FXX blitz the lap record and was amazed and thrilled when I saw that Schumacher was on the show. The interview was not great but I was hoping to see another F1 driver in a reasonably priced car. The jokey way they did that was not good. I can only assume Michael chickened out as he didn't think he could beat Mansell's time. An opportunity missed I think.

 

single episodes deal.

 

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It will have been down to time, it will have taken hours to set the FXX lap, and i guess they will have had Schumi for 1 day to complete all filming, so there would of been the choice between him doing the FXX laps or the reasonably priced car laps, I would not be surprised if it was Ferrari that encouraged Schumi to go with "his" FXX, as its not the 1st time he has done public demos with it !

 

IIRC, Schumi can't drive certain cars by contract. I believe the same problem occurred during the ROC. Thus, no lap by the real Schumi.

 

The way Fiat seem be acquiring brands at the moment probably won't be to much of a problem soon!. Actually Fiat already have a collaboration with Suzuki (Sedici is a Suzuki SX IIRC).

 

Lol true. I wonder if they asked him to do a lap and he responded, "my English isn't so good."

 

Haha ya, that was classic. The "regrets" part was great, too.

 

Steve, you nailed it right on the head, he is much more likeable now. He is also definately a car freak and seems like a great guy. Watching him introduce the new Ferrari's is a pleasure.

 

just found this. thought it was interesting. The voice sounds like Lewis Hamilton.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5BZ3OYnD_NQ


_J

 

The BBC confirmed that Michael was not the Stig and only did it for the one outing in the FXX.

I knew it was Michael as soon as I saw the car. He is the only one that was allowed to have an all black FXX. There is one other black one but it has the white livery on it.

One thing that is interesting to notice is it looks like Michael didnt do the FXX Evo package on his car. I will have to go back and look at it though.

Oh and the whole "having to keep the FXX at the factory" is an urban myth. I work for a man who has his FXX in his warehouse with his other cars and there are several other FXX owners here in the states that have theirs nearby. Michael Fux is one and so is Don Wallace.

 

LoL...those girls at the back just can't believe it's him...

 

Have you also noticed that their hot laps are selectively chosen for "entertainment" effect?

For example, the "Stig" lap in the EVO X was exceptionally tidy: maybe 9/10ths, while they pushed the STi 11/10ths -- drifting out way over the lines -- just so JC could hem and haw about the STi having a "quicker time".

It's an entertainment show.

You wouldn't actually buy a car based on a TG "test", would you?

 

Nope. But it's their opinion that counts.

 

Maybe not straight away no, but if i were at least intrested in a perticular type of car what ever it maybe like hot hatch, sports car, supercar.... what ever it may be i would look at their reviews then go to a dealer to try and find more. Because where else can you get a professional opinion on any car without it being biased, if you just go to a dealer and say i'm intrested in that they're just gonna subtlety say it's the best car in the world and then you might end up with the wrong car. So i wouldn't buy a car purely based on what they say but it might sway me abit. Then test drive it obviously.

 

You shouldn't take Top Gear or Clarkson too seriously IMO.

It's a very entertaining program and I enjoy watching it but their main focus lays withing the comedy rather than the objectivity of their content.

Top Gear is a comedy with cars...not a car show with some comedy.

 

I thought the intro to the Stig (before it was revealed to be MS) would have been pretty funny if Clarkson had said something like:

"Some say, that this winter Jenson Button started drinking his bath water...
And that his very name can cause Jacque Villeneuve to break out in hives...
All we know is, he's called the STIG"

 

Come on guys,
every real top gear fan knows that the Stig is Ben Collins. Havent any of you read the police report when hammond crashed????????????

 

+1.

MS only did a guest appearance ... as the Stig if you like. No way it is MS.
Pete

 

lol...you have to be kidding.

 

Ok, here is something interesting. I just watched season 3 episode 1 from 2003 and the stig tested the gt3. Hamster introduced him as herr Stigmacher. This is around time that the first Stig was fired for revealing himself. In this episode the BLACK Stig was launched off an aircraft carrier and retired. I've always thought that the Stig was more than one driver but could this hint of Hamsters been legit or ??. If you can watch that episode in retrospect it is a bit odd after the Schumie reveal.

Can't find a clip on the net...but I'll keep looking

 

Black Stig
The Stig (Series 1 & 2)

The first Stig wore black coveralls and helmet. It was introduced in the first episode of the current format by Jeremy Clarkson as the resident test driver, as the presenters could not consistently post fast times themselves. Clarkson noted that "we don't know its name, we really don't know its name, nobody knows its name, and we don't wanna know, cause it's a racing driver." Clarkson then described the Stig as having a very small brain, worthless opinions, and a disorder described by Clarkson as "Mansell Syndrome". Its job description was to "just go out there and drive fast".[4]

Black Stig posted a lap time of 1:46 for the Star in a Reasonably-Priced Car segment. This Stig was used for the first two series of the show. It was then "killed off" at the start of the third series when he was shown driving a modified Jaguar XJ-S off the flight deck of HMS Invincible during a stunt and landing in the sea.[5][6]

White Stig

After the Black Stig was "killed off", a new "White Stig" was introduced, wearing white coveralls and helmet.[7] White Stig has been featured in the show beyond just the Power Lap segment. His work has included driving cars in other segments of the show,[8] and racing against the hosts [9]. He has also been recruited to undertake other tests.[10] White Stig has also appeared outside Top Gear in some of Clarkson's motoring specials, such as 2005's Heaven and Hell, 2006's The Good, The Bad, The Ugly, 2007's Supercar Showdown, and 2008's Thriller. In the last two programmes he was 'blown up'. In Supercar Showdown it was because Clarkson had put too many turbos in a car and in Thriller it was because Clarkson had put dynamite in the engine.

The Stig also collected Top Gear's third award for Best factual programme at the 2008 British National Television Awards. The Stig did not speak, but supplied an acceptance letter from the rest of the crew, read out by Griff Rhys Jones.[11]

White Stig posted the fastest lap time of 1:44.4 around the Top Gear test track for the Star in a Reasonably-Priced Car segment

Other Stigs

There have been various cameo appearances by other Stigs on Top Gear.

Series 9 Episode 3 was set in the United States, with the presenters purchasing American cars and driving them across four states whilst on holiday. One of the challenges set for the presenters was for the cars to set a lap time around a racetrack, for which "the Stig's American cousin" was introduced. This Stig was nicknamed "Big Stig" by the presenters due to his obese appearance[12] and was noted by Clarkson to have a "very relaxed driving style".[13]

Series 10 Episode 4 featured the presenters driving across Botswana. To test the performance of the three cars used by the presenters around a dirt rally track, Clarkson introduced "the Stig's African cousin". This incarnation of the Stig was black, wore only Puma shoes, a loincloth and the iconic white helmet. He set lap times for two of the cars, but walked away from the track when Clarkson's Lancia Beta failed to start. The others joked that African Stig was "in a hurry", and decided "not to take your [Jeremy's] car".[14]

Series 12 Episode 1 featured Stig's lorry driving cousin ("Rig Stig," as identified via Jeremy's narration), who was set as a stereotypical lorry driver, with the right hand sleeve of his jump suit tanned brown and an obese appearance. He demonstrated to Clarkson, May and Hammond that it was possible to powerslide a lorry cab.[15].

The Vietnam special featured the 'Stig's Communist cousin' a red-jumpsuit clad motorcyclist, who set lap times on the presenters' bikes. Previously seen in the series 12 preview montage, the scenes were deleted from the broadcast, but the footage of the 'Communist cousin' was included in the extra materials of the DVD.[citation needed]

International Stigs

Top Gear Australia's version of the Stig is similarly attired to the UK White Stig, and his identity is likewise kept a secret. Marketing in the lead up to the series had stated he was the Stig's "Australian cousin",[16] but in the first episode he was introduced as just "the Stig". In the first episode of the second series, co-host Steve Pizzati clarified that he is an Australian Stig and is not intended to be the same Stig from the UK series.[17] Earlier, Pizzati had suggested that the Stig have an "Australian" name, such as "Stiggo", but the other presenters refused.[18]

Top Gear Russia also features their own version of the Stig, nicknamed "Stigushka" by the hosts.[19]