One Remaining: The Rest are History
A blast from the past, the “Star in a reasonably priced car” segment of the former Top Gear series featuring Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, and James May, is back with a new video. Four cars were used for this segment: Suzuki Liana, Chevrolet Lacetti, Kia Cee’d, and the Vauxhall Astra. However, this time, the focus is on the Kia Cee’d, the only one of the four with an apostrophe in its name. The video brings us back to the first-generation facelifted version of the five-door hatch.
From 2010 to 2013, this Kia Cee’d was prominently featured on TV, making up one of the three vehicles in the Top Gear team’s lineup. As distinct from the other two models, it incorporates an automatic gearbox rather than a manual transmission. After departing from its on-air stint, the car has changed hands since and is the only one that remains in active use today. Apart from a roll cage and Corbeau bucket seats with harnesses, everything else inside the vehicle is stock.
The present holder of the car divulges that the BBC did not actually purchase the cars as those were lent by Kia under the condition of keeping the interior as near to the original state as practicable. That is not too stunning, considering this particular model of Cee’d was available at the time the program was broadcasted; thus, the South Korean automaker wished to showcase it in close-to-original look.
Over the course of its time on Top Gear, this humble Kia hatchback clocked a mileage of 1,800 miles (around 2,900 kilometers). When the present owner got it, roughly 12,000 miles (close to 19,300 kilometers) were marked on the odometer. He acquired the Cee’d via eBay from an individual vendor back in November 2021 and has driven it for around 6,000 miles (9,600 kilometers) since then.
Aside from having the iconic Top Gear logo on the front doors, you can tell this Kia Cee’d has an interesting history just by looking at the signatures inside. Ben Collins, known to many as “The Stig”, signed his name on the center console, and Tiff Needell’s autograph is on the dashboard. Long-time fans of the show will remember him from the early days, while others will associate him with Fifth Gear. Not to be forgotten, however, is the fact that he was a professional racing driver, achieving an impressive third place overall at Le Mans in 1990.
Source: hampshirephoto / YouTube
