Fifth Gear
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Fifth Gear (formerly 5th Gear) is a motoring magazine shown on British TV channel five. The programme started its ninth season on 10 April 2006.
Fifth Gear was designed in 2002 after the BBC show Top Gear's first run ended in 2001 after 24 years as the premiere British car show - mostly attributed to a plummet in viewer ratings following the departure of presenter Jeremy Clarkson. Channel 5 wanted to buy the Top Gear name from the BBC, but the BBC refused, so they created the very similarly branded Fifth Gear as an attempt to take on the banner and audience which had been shed from the BBC after the axing. Several of Top Gear's ex-presenters, including Quentin Willson, Tiff Needell and Vicki Butler-Henderson were hired by Five to create the new motoring show.
The current presenters of Fifth Gear are Jon Bentley, Vicki Butler-Henderson, Tiff Needell, Jason Plato and Tom Ford.
The original format consisted of an approximately 23 minute programme. The eighth season returned in the Autumn of 2005 in a longer format of 45 minutes, which is closer to the relaunched version of Top Gear which is 60 minutes long. Besides giving out a car each programme, Fifth Gear is distinguishable from the current Top Gear in that it is typically less outrageous and more of a straightforward motoring show.
In the United States, the show is broadcast on SPEED Channel.
The edited version of the show is also shown on Discovery Real Time.
The Fifth Gear awards
Each year, the programme gives out various awards:2004
- Best small car – BMW 1 Series
- Best fast car – Porsche 911 Carrera S
- Best family car – Ford Focus
- Car of the year – Volkswagen Golf GTI
2005
- Best small car – Ford Fiesta ST
- Best fast car – BMW M5
- Best family car – Honda Civic
- Car of the year – Porsche Boxster
Shoot Outs
Fifth Gear claims to be 'world' renowned for their 'infamous' shoot outs, between similarly priced, similarly powerful cars, or, recently, cars versus bikes. These shoot outs take place at the Ty Croes circuit on the isle of Anglesey.2002 (Seasons 1 and 2)
- Ford Focus RS vs. Honda Civic Type-R vs. SEAT León Cupra R
2003 (Seasons 3 and 4)
- BMW Z4 3.0i vs. Porsche Boxster
- Radical SR3 vs. Ariel Atom
- Nissan 350Z vs. Audi TT 3.2 Quattro
- BMW M3 CSL vs. BMW M3
2004 (Seasons 5 and 6)
- Citroen C2 GT vs. Ford SportKa
- Ford Transit 125 T280 vs. Mercedes-Benz Sprinter 213CDI
- Škoda Fabia vRS TDi vs. MINI Cooper
- Lotus Elise 111R vs. Vauxhall VX220 Turbo
2005 - Season 7
- Ducati 999 vs. Lamborghini Gallardo
- Honda Civic Type-R vs. Renaultsport Clio 182 Cup
- Vauxhall Monaro VXR vs. MG ZT260
- MINI Cooper S Convertible vs. Smart Brabus Roadster Coupe
- Mosler MT900S vs. Ducati 999
- Mercedes-Benz SL55 AMG vs. Mercedes-Benz SLK55 AMG
- BMW X5 4.8is vs. Porsche Cayenne S
- Noble M400 vs. Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VIII MR FQ-400
2005 - Season 8
- Porsche 911 Carrera S vs. Lotus Exige 240R
- Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI GSR vs. Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX FQ-320
- Westfield XTR4 vs. Suzuki GSXR1000
- Ford Fiesta ST150 vs. Mitsubishi Colt CZT
- Mazda RX-8 vs. Alfa Romeo GT 3.2 V6
- Nissan 350Z vs. Audi TT Sport Quattro 240
- Suzuki Swift vs. Peugeot Jetforce 125 Compressor (scooter)
- Mercedes-Benz CLS55 AMG vs. Jaguar XJR
- Subaru Legacy 3.0 R spec.B Sports Tourer vs. Volvo V50 T5 SE AWD
- Lancia Delta Integrale vs. BMW M3 e30
2006 - Season 9
- Mazda MX-5 Miata vs. Mazda MX-5 Miata mk.I
- Subaru Impreza WRX STi Type-UK vs. Subaru Forester STi
- Vauxhall Astra VXR vs. Ford Focus ST
- Mercedes-Benz A200T vs. Toyota Corolla Verso T180
- BMW M6 vs. BMW M5
- Škoda Octavia vRS vs. Volkswagen Golf GTI (while driving in reverse, the GTI won drving normally; yet Tiff declared the Škoda the winner)
- Volkswagen Golf R32 vs. BMW 130i M Sport
External links
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