4 Things Top Gear Predicted Wrong

Given that Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and from series two, James May, fronted Top Gear for the best part of 13 years, it was only inevitable that some pretty huge predictions would be made about the future of the car.

While some of those have come true, not all have been correct, for better or worse. We’ve picked out four times the Top Gear trio got predictions wrong.

‘Cars like this will soon be consigned to the history books’ – 2009

Jeremy Clarkson’s review of the Aston Martin V12 Vantage from 2009 is one of, if not the, most beautiful pieces of automotive media ever crafted.

Clarkson says very little during the nearly four-minute review of the car. Yet, one particular comment out of the few he makes cut seriously deep. “What it makes me feel, though, is sad. I can’t help thinking… cars like this will soon be consigned to the history books”.

A fair prediction at the time, but one that’s happily proven wrong. Just to name a handful, the 2010s alone saw the V10-powered Lexus LFA and Lamborghini Huracan introduced, another V12 Vantage came in 2011, we could go on, really. Had Clarkson made that comment today, though, we’d probably agree with it.

‘This will probably be the last V12 ever made’ – 2012

When the trio headed to Italy with a batch of supercars – the McLaren MP4-12C, Noble M600 and Lamborghini Aventador – Clarkson proclaimed that the latter’s 6.5-litre twelve-cylinder engine would ‘probably be the last V12 ever made’.

It didn’t take very long for that to be thwarted, with the Ferrari F12 coming along later in 2012 with a 6.3-litre V12. Today, the configuration is still used in the Revuelto, which succeeded the Aventador, as well as the Aston Martin Valkyrie, the Pagani Utopia and the GMA T50, to name a few.

‘The most important car for 100 years’ – 2008

While EVs may have ingrained themselves in the automotive world today, there was dramatically more scepticism around electric power back in Top Gear’s prime years.

Options were limited, charging was largely confined to three-pin sockets that would take literal days to recharge a car, and ranges were piddly at best.

When reviewing the hydrogen-powered Honda FCX Clarity, James May stated, “I’m absolutely convinced that the Clarity is the most important car for 100 years”.

He adds, “Now electric cars have always seemed promising, but as long as they’re powered by batteries, they don’t quite cut it” before stating that hydrogen fuel cell cars are ‘the car of the future’ as they’re ‘just like the car of today’. 

Well, sadly, this one has so far been wide of the mark. While hydrogen fuel cell cars have come and gone in the past two decades, none have really stayed so far, owing to the scarcity of refuelling stations and massive costs of purchase. Meanwhile, EVs have continued to be developed en masse and now have widespread take-up.

One day, hydrogen cars may prove to be the future, but it remains a long way from now.

‘In five years' time, everyone will be driving Chinese cars’ – 2012

OK, we’re being pedantic with the timelines here. Five years was a stretch in 2012, though, as stated by James May when he and Clarkson headed to Beijing to sample the country’s current offerings. The conclusion was that while Chinese cars were still sub-par, the rate of progress from just five years prior was staggering.

By 2017, Chinese manufacturers had begun to arrive in Europe, but none had any serious stronghold, barring some lacklustre efforts from MG. However, the market is now being stormed by manufacturers from the country, partly as rapid development of EV tech has brought them on par with cars from established Western manufacturers while generally undercutting costs.