Former host isn’t happy with the fate of the modified vehicles he used on the show. Jeremy Clarkson has said he is “sad” the BBC is scrapping “many” of the customised cars featured on Top Gear. The motoring show’s former host commented on the corporation’s decision to destroy a number of the memorable vehicles that were altered by Clarkson and his co-hosts Richard Hammond and James May when they hosted the show from 2002 to 2015.
![[The Mini Cooper used in ‘Top Gear’s ski stunt in 2006 is among the vehicles being scrapped]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2025/01/14/11/newFile-2.jpg)
These cars had been available to view at the National Motor Museum until the exhibition closed in 2023 following Freddie Flintoff’s near-death experience while filming an episode of the series. But the BBC have now decided to scrap some of the modified vehicles outright.
Those sent to the scrapheap include a Mini Cooper used for a car ski-jump attempt in 2006 and a caravan airship that May used to fly across England in 2010. “But to petrolheads, they’re more than that. That’s especially true of cars we used on Top Gear.”.
BBC Studios confirmed it has “rehomed the majority of the show’s iconic vehicles” but downplayed the number of cars that are being scrapped. A spokesperson claimed that “many of them will be available for public viewing at a soon to be announced new location”.
After Flintoff’s horror crash, the BBC said that production of Top Gear had been halted “for the forseeable future” – and its future remains uncertain. After Clarkson, Hammond and May’s time on Top Gear ended, they moved to Amazon for Prime Video series The Grand Tour, which premiered in 2016.
