Top Gear (2002 TV series)/Series 18

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Series 18 (2002 format)
Series 18 wasn't the most popular season, but kept things going.
Series 18 wasn't the most popular season, but kept things going.
Episodes 9
Originally aired 28/12/2011 - 29/10/2012
Original network BBC Two
Resolution 576i
Aspect ratio 16:9 Widescreen
Preceded by Series 17 (2011)
Superceded by Series 19 (2013)

The eighteenth series of Top Gear premiered in the United Kingdom on the 28th December, 2011, and concluded on the 29th October, 2012, after a run of 9 episodes. The series' main host was Jeremy Clarkson, and he was accompanied by Richard Hammond, James May and The Stig as co-presenters. The series was produced at Television Centre in Wood Lane, London, and aired on BBC Two in a 60-minute studio format. Series 18 attracted an average viewership rating of 6.01 million viewers per episode, with a peak of 6.61 million viewers for India Special, and a low of 5.28 million viewers for Episode 4.

Highlights from this series include the Supercars Across Italy road trip, a heartfelt retrospective on then-recently departed Swedish marque SAAB in the same vein as they had previously done for Lancia, and the guest appearances of famed guitarist Slash and Formula 1 driver Kimi Räikkönen in the series finale.

Due to the Summer Olympics in London, there would be no series of Top Gear in mid-2012. Instead, to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the James Bond franchise in addition to Top Gear's 10th year on the air, the 50 Years of Bond Cars Special would air in October 2012 in an unconventional Monday 9:00 PM timeslot. Hosted solely by Richard Hammond, the special focused on the automotive history of the fictional British spy.