gear kereta

Shiny cars wait for their appearnce on the Top Gear Live show, which finished its world tour in Hong Kong last weekend. / Courtesy of BBC

By Han Sang-hee
Korea Times Correspondent

HONG KONG ― BBC's hit program ``Top Gear'' launched the final leg of its live show tour in Hong Kong, showing that with the right content and cool cars, anything can be made into thrilling entertainment.

Hosted by two star hosts Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and Hong Kong's favorite racing driver, Marchy Lee, the Top Gear Live venue, the 3000-seat Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center, was packed with fans waiting for more than the British television program. And presumably, they went home happy and entertained.

``Welcome to Top Gear Live,'' started Clarkson, appearing in a paisley shirt and jeans, walking out from a Lamborghini, along with Hammond in a Porsche and Lee in a Maserati.

Famous for his witty and cutting remarks, Clarkson managed to bring his humor right from the program and onto the large stage, along with fellow host Hammond.

``He's even smaller than you!,'' Clarkson said as Lee walked toward Hammond, drawing laughter from the audience.

Lee was a bit overshadowed by the two hosts, but carried out his role well as the Hong Kong representative, translating and also showing some of his own driving stunts and skills during the show.

The stage, which resembled an F1 track, was closer to the audience than expected, offering thrills whenever the cars screeched along the slippery floors.

Stunt drivers appeared in shiny cars, followed by a police car, boasting their driving techniques gracefully and effortlessly with fireworks and pyrotechnics wowing the crowd. The cream of the crop was the commercial-like sequence when a driver instantly parked a car in a tiny space in a row right between two others.

Then came the race between the three hosts on what they called ``car wear,'' which were tiny contraptions that, surprisingly, moved and raced like cars.

Next brought onto the stage was the ``cage of death,'' or a small, circular cage, and a motorbike stunt rider who entered it and was later joined by a total of four other riders as they raced inside it, with audience members holding their breath.

Another interesting segment was the wall of fame, where the audience helped rate different vehicles, including a Ferrari, Lamborghini, Zonda and Bugatti.

Audience members were given papers that were green on one side and red on the other and would hold up one side, monitored by a special optical device on the ceiling that would count the number of colors and finally show it on the large screen in the middle of the stage. The winner? The Bugatti Veyron.

Other than bringing Lee to just ``localize'' the show, there was also a segment where a martial artist came onto the stage and performed a duel with a vehicle.

There were, however, less astonishing sequences, like the bowling segment where Lee was placed inside a shopping cart and pushed by a Mercedes Benz driven by Clarkson, and a drumming session with a drum kit made out of used car parts.

The highlight of the show was the exhilarating three-against-three soccer match, between the Hong Kong team, led by Lee, and the U.K. team, led by Hammond.

The small Suzukis, driven by professional stunt drivers, were swift, and the game was surprisingly like any other soccer game: the ``injured'' car was sent back to be replaced, the defense cars rushed back to their goals in a split second while the penalty kick was carried out by racing backwards with the plastic soccer ball.

``Hong Kong is famously terrible in soccer,'' Clarkson joked, drawing laughter from the audience.

The game finished with 4:3 for the U.K.

The finale was, ironically, a bit weak compared to the soccer match, when the audience shouted and cheered enthusiastically.

Top Gear's mystery driver the Stig appeared in his usual white uniform and helmet, racing around the stage on a Lotus, trying to get away from an armed helicopter shooting from the screen.

Thanks to the 3D glasses, the helicopter did seem like it was heading toward the audience, but no thanks to the advanced technology in action films and games, the 3D experience did not match up to the soccer match.

With high hopes in bringing the live show annually to other parts of the world, Top Gear Live ended its 75-minute segment with crowds cheering.

The total package was thrilling and entertaining with spectacular ― make that expensive ― cars racing, spinning and competing live for fans.

``The core of the program is cars, we think it's the best invention (in the world),'' Clarkson said.