Oz version lacks original's set budget...
The web is buzzing this morning with news that the Aussie version of Top Gear has upset the indigenous auto industry by wreaking costly havoc on its metalwork.
According to Australian newspaper the Herald Sun, Top Gear down under has ‘turned into a demolition derby’ that has left seething motor PR departments with an unbudgeted panel-beating bill of $200,000 for cars loaned to the programme makers.
The Herald Sun reports that cars have needed total resprays and other repairs following various stunts enacted in the name of entertainment – apparently the costliest single bill was $25,000 dollars stumped up by Lamborghini, while a posse of Holden Astras needed $30,000 worth of repairs following a game of motorised lawn bowls.
Here at PistonHeads, it all seems like great PR for the Aussie version of the programme that is reportedly not rating strongly with viewers. Indeed, we’re far more interested in the associated publicity shot of the trio of presenters – including a mustachio-ed Clarkson figure, a blonde James May and a stubble-chinned Hammond looking every inch like our own ‘fab threesomes’ country cousins.
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