[Meccanico]

All car fans have been saddened by the death our favourite TV show, Top Gear for a while now. The new show however is on the way and I had the opportunity to see the Top Gear trio up to their usual antics live at the O2 Arena in London on the 28th of November 2015. As Jeremy Clarkson was sacked from the BBC before the live tour started, the show was renamed from Top Gear Live to Clarkson, Hammond and May Live.

#I apologise for the bad picture quality in advance. Professional cameras were not allowed inside and hence had to take photos with my smartphone.

I bought the ticket online one year in advance for a £100 (~10,000 INR) which was indeed quite expensive. Tickets to formula one races are very similar. Even after purchasing the tickets I was not sure if it was going to be worth it. In the end, it definitely was.

The O2 arena is located on the south bank of the river Thames and is one of the biggest and most popular venues for large scale concerts and shows in London.



The very first car to come into the arena was the Aston Martin DB10 especially made for the Bond film 'Spectre' even before the show started. IT definitely increased the hype and got the crowd excited.

After some delay James May and Richard Hammond, both hardcore motorcycle fans (unlike Clarkson) made their way into the arena on Ducati Diavels. Throughout Top Gear, Hammond has been roasted for being really short. On that day I realised he really is the size of a peanut. Clarkson struggled to the control his hovercraft as he ventured onto the stage and the crowd erupted into cheers. It was a magnificent moment for a car lover like me to witness my three favourite car persons in flesh. After Clarkson had moaned about how stupid motorcycles are in his usual manner, the show was underway.




The show consisted of several small acts. In the first one there were several Ford Focuses drifting about in reverse and still managing to make precise turns and avoid collisions. The secret was revealed when the drivers got out and it was visible that it was actually only the [b]body[b] of the car was facing the other direction. The drivers were hence driving in a straight direction and not reverse.

Clarkson, Hammond and May then raced each other in classic three wheeled Reliant Robins, obviously rolling over several times. Their dialogues were hilarious and kept the audience entertained. Other small bits were motorcyclists racing inside a sphere, (this reminded me of watching 'Rambo Circus' as a child in India) a BMX rider hopping onto running cars and Clarkson racing an Olympic athlete in a Nissan GTR R35 (the athlete won).



The trio then brought out their cars made out of homemade electrical appliances. May managed to put together a 'car' made out of a washing machine while Hammond used blenders attached to an ironing board. Clarkson had attempted to build a dragster powered by blenders and a vacuum cleaner. This was the funniest part of the show and the machines were actually pretty impressive.




In classic Top Gear style, the hosts battled it out in 3 a-side car (Suzuki Swifts) football. This is one sport I would love to try out in real life. Now the people who watched Top Gear know very well what happened when they went to film the 'Argentina Special' in the Top Gear series. Due to Clarkson's controversial number plate referring to a war, a mob heavily pelted the show's cars and crew with stones. They blocked the roads and the stars and crew had a lucky escape. The car football match was hence England versus Argentina mocking the incident. As the BBC had no more control over Clarkson, he was being himself throughout the show. Long story short, politically incorrect and dark humour, loads of abuses and inappropriate comments. The crowd loved it.



Followed by football, two ordinary cars dressed in Porsche 911 bodys put up a show while a lady with a massive flamethrower spewed fire at the cars. The cars actually resembled Porsches very well but it was very easy for a car fan to spot the truth underneath. After the high adrenaline, it was time for some orchestra. Two BMW M3's completely covered in LED lights danced to magnificent music. The lights were wonderfully synchronised to the music and this bit was probably the most visually appealing.




The geysers then challenged each other for a drift battle. Clarkson drove a Silvia, Hammond a RX-8 and May in a BMW. Captain Slow or James May, won the battle by a mile while Clarkson failed miserably crashing into the barriers. The sound of the rotary RX-8 echoing in the arena was mind blowing.




Now for the cherry on the cake. As Clarkson put it, "Prepare for some automotive pornography". A calm melodious symphony was played as some of the best cars in the world rolled into the arena. My senses were tingling and I was in sheer awe of the automotive marvels that were in front of me. The McLaren P1, McLaren 650S, Porsche 918 Spyder, Porsche 911 GT3 RS, Ferrari LaFerrari, Ferrari 458 Speciale, Lamborghini Aventador, Lamborghini Huracan, Audi R8, BMW i8, Nissan GT-R, Aston Martin DB12, Aston Martin DB10, Mercedes AMG GT S, Alfa Romeo 4C Spider, Bentley Continental GT. All before the eyes at once.
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All in all, it was a car lovers treat. The arena was filled with the smell of petrol and rubber throughout the 2 hour show. The show was well organised and they knew exactly how to entertain petrolheads. An experience worth taking home.

[varunswnt]

Super awesome to have viewed these legends live.

I was fortunate enough to have visited O2 arena twice, London Open 2012 and Radiohead concert. I was in VIP box, tickets sponsored by my Client , perks of being Software engineer . I can easily relate to the experience you might have had in O2. O2 has some really top notch arrangements and can be host to almost all types of event, its really flexible and agile.

[libranof1987]

Seems like a good experience!

Originally Posted by Meccanico

The trio then brought out their cars made out of homemade electrical appliances. May managed to put together a 'car' made out of a washing machine while Hammond used blenders attached to an ironing board. Clarkson had attempted to build a dragster powered by blenders and a vacuum cleaner. This was the funniest part of the show and the machines were actually pretty impressive.

I've always been curious during each "special" episode; do these guys actually build that stuff (be it the hovercraft or all the mods they perform on cars during drives) all by themselves? Or do they have a bunch of people with actual knowledge of mechanics and electricals to help them out.

[Meccanico]

Originally Posted by libranof1987

Seems like a good experience!



I've always been curious during each "special" episode; do these guys actually build that stuff (be it the hovercraft or all the mods they perform on cars during drives) all by themselves? Or do they have a bunch of people with actual knowledge of mechanics and electricals to help them out.

The hovercraft used in the show was off the shelf. They do not build the special vehicles themselves, however some of the modifications they carry out in the TV series are in fact done by themselves. The vehicles, in this case the ones made out of home made appliances are constructed by specialists for the studio. Clarkson, Hammond or May simply do not have the time nor the expert skills required to build the bizarre machines. Do not forget that they use the same machines in all the shows over the world hence they have to be well built and reliable.

[Meccanico]

Originally Posted by varunswnt

Super awesome to have viewed these legends live.

I was fortunate enough to have visited O2 arena twice, London Open 2012 and Radiohead concert. I was in VIP box, tickets sponsored by my Client , perks of being Software engineer . I can easily relate to the experience you might have had in O2. O2 has some really top notch arrangements and can be host to almost all types of event, its really flexible and agile.

True that! The O2 is a great venue. Ah! All you want from a client. I was in the normal seats, 4th row from the front. Unfortunately I did not have anyone to sponsor my ticket.