--- title: "What Was the Best Classic Top Gear Segment?" date: "2023-04-18" modified: "2023-04-18" authors: - name: "Andrew P. Collins" job_title: "Executive Editor" link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/andrew-p-collins" url: "https://www.thedrive.com/news/what-was-the-best-classic-top-gear-segment" categories: - "Culture" - "News" - "QOTD" --- # What Was the Best Classic Top Gear Segment? ![]() *\Andrew P. Collins\* The BBC's [*Top Gear* TV show]() has had several good iterations and many memorable episodes over its 33-season lifespan so far. But my fellow millennials and I often put its peak circa the mid-'00s, when YouTube was still nothing but a novelty and [Jeremy Clarkson](), James May, and Richard Hammond were in their show-hosting prime. That trio was not the show's original cast, [nor were they the last](). But in an era when automotive entertainment was limited to either motorsports or cut-and-dry public access car review content, the dramatic delivery and cinematic scene-setting of what I call "classic Top Gear" was really pretty mind-blowing. Somebody recently sent me this old BMW M3 CSL shakedown hosted by Clarkson from the Isle of Man, having thought of me because I've got a silver E46 in my own stable (not a CSL, of course). I hadn't seen it in years and got sucked in very quickly—there's just so much cool energy and momentum in the pacing, filming, and hosting of this clip. And this isn't even one of *Top Gear*'s most famous segments. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vX3GsS88zWo I'm not saying classic *Top Gear* was perfect (was a bulimia joke really necessary in this M3 clip?) but there's no denying it set the bar for car content and set a lot of precedents for the way automobiles would be shown on video. That said, what I really want to know is, what was your favorite segment from this pre-social media era of *Top Gear*? ## Author As Executive Editor, Andrew touches everything on the site from daily news coverage to feature stories, sponsored content, product reviews, road testing vehicles, ecommerce, and more. He's held pretty much every role there is to have at an automotive news site and has been with The Drive's publisher Recurrent since 2020. Andrew's a lifetime gearhead and longtime writer with a particularly strong penchant for road trips, off-road adventures, and archaic vehicles. His passions outside of the automotive world include skiing, obsolete video games, and his dog Bramble who occationally helps review cars. ### Author social links [Instagram]() [LinkedIn]()