Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May take on the challenge of making an ordinary second-hand car lap the test track as fast as a brand-new, purpose-built sports saloon. James travels to the frozen north and enlists the help of F1 world champion Mika Hakkinen in a quest to discover why the Finns are such good racing drivers. Meanwhile Richard hammers around the track in the outlandish Veritas sports car and Mark Wahlberg is the Hollywood Star in a Reasonably Priced Car.

Richard Hammond celebrates the 40th birthday of the iconic Ferrari Daytona by taking one back to its spiritual home on the Italian Riviera before attempting to beat James May and a multi-million pound power boat in a race from Portofino to St Tropez. Meanwhile, back in the UK Jeremy Clarkson is out on the test track testing the new BMW M3 saloon against a young pretender from Japan, the Lexus IS-F. Top Gear also tackles a political hot potato as Richard attempts to find the best sort of bus for British city streets by getting together everything from a hopper to a bendy bus and then having a race with them. Plus, Grand Designs presenter Kevin McCloud is the Star in a Reasonably Priced Car.