In the last show of this series Jeremy Clarkson races the new Jaguar XJ against something even bigger and more powerful – the rotation of the Earth itself. Meanwhile, Richard Hammond achieves a boyhood dream by testing two 1980s supercar icons, the Porsche 959 and Ferrari F40, and James May is in America to drive NASA’s very latest Space Exploration Vehicle.

Challenge: Jeremy drives the Jaguar XJ across the width of England, from west to east. He leaves at sunset and has to finish before sunrise, and to make it harder, it’s the shortest night of the year. Jeremy calls it a race against God.

First shown on: 27/02/2011

Watch Top Gear Season 16 Episode 6

The presenters tackle the traffic chaos snowy weather causes in Britain, and hit upon a solution involving a combine harvester, some rudimentary engineering skills and a trip to Norway. Jeremy Clarkson tests the Audi RS5 and the BMW M3, and a surprising guest gets behind the wheel of the Reasonably Priced Car.

Challenge: Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May set out to end the chaos and misery that snowfall brings to Britain every year, using a combine harvester, some basic engineering skills and a quick trip to Norway. The machine, called The Dominator, features a gritter (salt-machine) and flamethrower at the back. James is chosen to drive the machine, which maxes out at 12 miles per hour.

First shown on: 20/02/2011

Watch Top Gear Season 16 Episode 5

Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May set out to buy second-hand convertibles and discover some of the unusual pitfalls to watch out for when picking up a used car bargain. Plus, Jeremy is on the test track in the powerful Pagani Zonda R, whilst Simon Pegg is the Star in a Reasonably Priced Car.

Challenge: The three are told to buy a four-seater convertible for less than £2000, but unfortunately, they all buy the same car: a BMW 325i and then test which is best and who got the best deal.

First shown on: 13/02/2011

Watch Top Gear Season 16 Episode 4

Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May visit Albania to test three luxurious vehicles – the Rolls-Royce Ghost, Bentley Mulsanne and Mercedes-Benz S65 AMG. Jeremy also drives three high-performance hatchbacks in the form of the limited-edition Ford Focus RS500, Prodrive-developed Cosworth Impreza STi CS400 and one-off Volvo C30 PPC. Jonathan Ross is the Star in the Reasonably Priced Car.

First shown on: 6/02/2011

Watch Top Gear Season 16 Episode 3

Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May go head-to-head against their opposite numbers from Australian Top Gear in a car-based version of The Ashes. With disciplines including rallying, drifting and an Aussie version of double-decker car racing, it’s an all-out grudge match that will almost certainly end in tears. Also in the show, Jeremy is on the test track in Ferrari’s new 599 GTO and Borris Becker takes a turn as the Star in a Reasonably Priced Car.

Challenge: England vs Australia in their version of The Ashes

First shown on: 30/01/2011

Watch Top Gear Season 16 Episode 2

The Ariel Atom, with a V8 engine, 900 bhp per tonne and a 0 – 60mph time under 2.3 seconds, is driven on the track by… James. Will it reach 60mph? Richard plays with Porches – again and Jeremy drives the Skoda Yeti, John Bishop is the Star in a Reasonably Priced Car.

First shown on: 23/01/2011

Watch Top Gear Season 16 Episode 1

To determine America’s toughest truck, the hosts travel to Alaska. They are given $3,000 to buy pick-up trucks, with the conditions that the truck has at least 150,000 miles (240,000 km) and are bought sight unseen. Tanner buys a 1983 Chevrolet C/K, Rutledge buys a 1997 Dodge Ram, and Adam buys a 1976 Ford F-250. After seeing their purchases for the first time, they are informed that anyone whose truck breaks will be forced to drive an imported Toyota Hilux, which they claim will make them a national disgrace.

Challenge: Each host must accelerate their truck to 30 miles an hour along a trail, then brake at a marker placed 30 feet from the edge of a lake. The hosts are then told to drive to Fairbanks, where they are told that they must convert their trucks into campers overnight to survive in the wilderness. The three must climb to the top of Fish Creek. As their final challenge, they must drive further south to a glacier, and drive upon it to complete their challenge.

First shown on: 16/01/2011

Watch Top Gear USA Season 1 Episode 9 Online

Rutledge races Tanner to see if it’s faster to fly or drive if your journey is less than 500 miles, Tanner tries out the new BMW X6M and Rutledge gets confused by the new Porsche Panamera. Brett Michaels gets on the Top Gear test track.

Challenge: Tanner and Rutledge race from Hollywood to Las Vegas to determine if driving or flying is a faster mode of transportation when your journey is under 500 miles (800 km). Rutledge takes a taxi to the airport, then, after a 50-minute delay, flies to Las Vegas, where he charters another taxi to the finishing point. Tanner drives a Ferrari California, which almost runs out of fuel in the early stages of the trip, forcing him to draft behind a truck to save fuel.

First shown on: 9/01/2011

Watch Top Gear USA Season 1 Episode 8 Online

In San Francisco, Rutledge and Adam will race the Honda CRZ against extreme mountain bikers Tanner, Adam and Rutledge will have to test their sales skills at a used car dealership comedic actor Tim Allen will enter the test track.

Challenge: Rutledge drives the new Honda CR-Z hybrid, which he finds to be slow and less economical than even the Toyota Prius. To test the car, he teams up with Adam and races two mountain bikers across San Francisco. Due to several navigational errors (as well as Rutledge being distracted by varying features of the car), the bikers narrowly win the race.

First shown on: 02/01/2011

Watch Top Gear USA Season 1 Episode 7 Online

Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May embark on a seasonal road trip, trying to follow the path of the three wise men across the Middle East. However, they opt to do so in open-top sports cars that were built for significantly less demanding tasks than driving along the conflict-ridden mountains of southern Turkey, through war-ravaged Iraq and across the searing deserts of Syria. The trio also try to find out what myrrh is and where it can be bought.

First shown on: 26/12/2010

Watch Top Gear Season 16 Episode 00 (Middle East Special) Online