KEY POINTS:
The circus is coming to town - and what a show it promises to be. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, one of the most watched television juggernauts on the planet is coming to New Zealand in a theatre spectacular.
The BBC-produced show Top Gear is due
to hit our shores in a live format in February 2009 with two of its regular presenters, Jeremy Clarkson and Richard Hammond. The quiet one, James May, won't be along for the ride and his place is being taken by some local talent - one Greg Murphy.
The live theatre production is aimed at creating an in-your-face motoring experience with all the stunts and mayhem associated with the television show. It'll be an action-packed show with plenty of driving sequences and possibly the ever-popular car soccer.
There'll also be impossibly-priced supercars, scathing wit and comedy, stunts and the ubiquitous explosions and crashes.
Nearby will be an area where a gallery of motoring paraphernalia will be on display along with a showroom full of prestige cars.
The show, from February 12-15, 2009, will feature 16 different scenes and the presenters will host the event in the spirit of the "ambitious but not always successful" Top Gear style.
Each visitor to the show will get a chance to do a hot lap around the test track inside the arena to see if they can set the fastest time. Clarkson will be doing a running commentary, along with 3000 screaming fans in the audience, to see how far the hapless driver can climb up the virtual Top Gear lap board.
By the end of the global tour, we'll be able to see if New Zealand can best Sydney, London, Johannesburg or any of the other countries in Top Gear Live's worldwide jaunt.
And because the show is live and interactive, the audience will have a chance to influence what car makes it on to the Cool Wall. Punters to the show will be able to argue for the case of the DB9 being removed from the Sub Zero section of the wall, and maybe even get Hammond's Porsche moved up a notch or two.
Each leg of the tour consists of 10 shows, meaning Top Gear Live will be seen more than 100 times throughout the duration of the trip. More than 300,000 visitors in total will witness the adventure first-hand.
Top Gear Live aims to visit 30 cities annually by 2012.
New Zealand is stop number six on the seven-stop Top Gear Live global journey, which is expected to finish in Hong Kong.
A good number of the 30,000 tickets that went on sale in late November have been snapped up and the rest will sell fast for the live show, which has the world of motoring sitting up and taking notice.
"Put simply, Top Gear Live was so successful on the small screen and so many people wanted to be part of it, it made sense to take it to the people and to the world," said show director Bas Bungish.
The event has already been a great success with sell-out shows in London and Birmingham and high demand for the Sydney leg.
The extravaganza is at the ASB Showgrounds, February 12-15, 2009, and ticket prices range from $70 for general admission to $150 for a diamond evening ticket.
The general admission ticket includes a seat in the show theatre and access to the luxury car exhibition. A premium reserve allows for a centrally located seat within the first 14 rows of the theatre and access to the luxury car exhibition. The diamond version gets you a centrally located seat within the first eight rows of the theatre and access to the luxury car exhibition.
A paddock pass is an optional add-on that allows access to the backstage area to see the vehicles and other theatre equipment used in the performance up close. There are only 300 paddock passes available per event.
The exhibition pass can be purchased separately to show tickets, and include access to the luxury car exhibition only.
SHOW DATES
Thursday, February 12, 2009, 6.30pm
Friday, February 13, 2009, 5pm and 8pm
Saturday, February 14, 2009, 11am, 2pm, 5pm and 8pm
Sunday, February 15, 2009, 11am, 2pm and 5pm
For more information - Ticketek or topgearlive.co.nz