How I became THE STIG!

[@j76148]

You know legend has it Ben Collins was paid by the Stig to tell his story and still keep his identity a secret.

[@renknook]

-"legend has it"- "some say", you mean

[@lampard9512]

​@@renknook 🤝

[@BenCollinsDrives]

who told you?

[@MegaSmiley]

A great gag would have been to pan to the side at the end to see the Stig with his thumb up

[@deejayyy1681]

Hahahahhaaha 😅

[@C.Fecteau-AU-MJ13]

Some say he's not the Stig, he's the Stig's book writing cousin.

[@BenCollinsDrives]

haha

[@BenCollinsDrives]

they can't read 🤣

[@mclarenjohnf1]

@@BenCollinsDrives Has The Ben Collins got a CarTrek driving cousin.

[@gaveintothedarkness]

Book Stig

[@normanmanske]

I read that in Clarkson's voice

[@TimeBucks]

The most famous person no one recognizes

[@dimasasongslowedreverb4724]

Nice

[@dimasasongslowedreverb4724]

Nice

[@srabanimajumder9683]

👍

[@momotazzparvin3026]

Good

[@amitbhowmick3326]

Nice

[@BenCollinsDrives]

Such a pleasure meeting Ed and talking shop - I really want to get him and the other Car-Trekkers on track and make them sweat - what do you think KZbin... ?

[@Stevesixty7]

Do it Ben, would love to see that.

[@LincolnMaxnCo]

I would love to see that 😃👍 Please make it happen. Thank you for all those years of entertainment! I always tought you had the best job in the world

[@Fordguy1997]

That would be excellent, Stiggy!

[@CrackedCandy]

That would be great Ben. Would love to see it. What did you think/feel when they said Michael Schumacher was THE STIG? how do you feel about the beebs reaction to your book? Thanks for your contribution to my happy childhood

[@BucksCorner101]

Some say that Ed, Freddie, and Tyler are squirly track drivers and they need a legendary teacher. Today they found that driver, who called himself Ben. All we know is, he's called THE STIG!

[@thatautogarage3644]

Imagine being such a Stig that not even family nor friends know you’re the Stig for years. Ben Collins is a living legend.

[@samsonian]

Definitely one of the most challenging things I can imagine…having everyone building you up as the Chuck Norris of motorsports but you can’t tell anyone both because they will blow your cover AND because it kills some of the magic (in a way) of being the ‘legendary masked gunfighter’ character. Cheers to Ben, at least he isn’t a cock about the role; just a normal cool bloke.

[@dyoung1998]

Actually my friend had a connection to people that knew Ben at that time. My friend knew that he was the stig, so I'm sure his friends and family knew as well.

[@michaelcordero5588]

@@dyoung1998 My father is the Stig.

[@florkgagga]

And sooo pleasant to listen to!

[@bille77]

I always thought Michael Schumacher was the Stig.

[@ajdahun]

Guy’s pretty smart, and way ahead of the curve, donning a full face helmet when standing next to Will Smith

[@BenCollinsDrives]

LOL

[@ExcellentDude]

Bravo sir! That should be a front runner for comment of the video!

[@JoshuaC923]

😂😂😂

[@burntrubber5689]

Keep my lap time out your damn mouth

[@x3a3x3]

😂😂😂😊

[@tavarish]

What an absolute LEGEND

[@seancbrophy]

Not unlike YOURself Freddy.

[@markoz673bajen8]

​​@@seancbrophy Hammond you Ediot.

[@BenCollinsDrives]

Freddy is the man - can't wait to drive his swamp beast 🤪

[@drano72]

Finally a legit driver interview! love it

[@ghomerhust]

so jealous that you got to work with Ben on that colab in the UK, what a treat!

[@jordan-ramblinaround2323]

The coolest man on earth when I was a kid.

[@jdavis54]

Wdym? Man is still a legend!

[@sponge1995]

Must still be a kid then because hes still a legend

[@asherdie]

@@jdavis54 reading and comprehension are not your forte...

[@asherdie]

@@sponge1995 reading and comprehension not your forte...

[@jdavis54]

@@asherdie and writing isn’t yours 😂😂😂

[@purehardstyles]

I’d imagine this would of been a super surreal moment for Ed to have THE legit Stig in the VinWiki set telling classic stories! Utterly epic!! 👏

[@tournamentmaster2000]

I bet. Also Would be hilarious if he turned up in a car trek series.

[@wingracer1614]

Even more surreal perhaps, youtuber Jimmy Broadbent has actually raced against him

[@Hydraav2]

@@tournamentmaster2000 Good chance he will. He has his own youtube channel and has been popping up on multiple different car channels recently.

[@BenCollinsDrives]

he did look a little surprised, but he was alert enough to stop me taking the keys to his Lambo

[@Rekuzan]

Rumor has it, Ed is still pinching himself!

[@IDv8I]

The Stig was my hero when I was younger. Thank you for this, the glory days of Top Gear were the best and The Stig fit perfectly.

[@ohnaw223]

Same my minecraft skin of many years is the stig 😭

[@ExcellentDude]

Some say he is illegal in 17 US states, and he blinks this way [sideways]. All we know is he’s called the Stig.

[@fishhuntadventure]

At first I was thinking, “Again! I just don’t get british humor.” Then it hit me: it’s just an ignorant and stupid comment with no relevance whatsoever.

[@angelofrago3096]

Fookin' Clarkson!!! Hahaha

[@thatloudCG5]

Some say he isn't machine washable, and all of his potted plants are called Steve...

[@jiskithehusky9094]

Let’s be honest, sometimes we go into the comments and see tons of people not liking a story and thinking this channel has finally run out of content. But then, we get stories like this. This is why we stick around.

[@Knakkerman-]

I see what you did there buddy

[@JoshuaC923]

To be fair it's quite hard to maintain the quality of the stories, but yeah i got much better things to spend my time on most days

[@creativecraving]

I'm confused. I don't watch this channel for the comments. And, if I don't like an episode, I don't bother checking the comments. I just watch something else instead.

[@Hellawacked]

@@creativecravingsame ed does great work on the interviews

[@mndlessdrwer]

I always had the image in my mind that Jeremy was being euphemistic when he said that he had a chat with the Stig and that the actual interaction was just the Stig stepping out of the car, walking over, and then a piece of paper like a receipt being ejected slowly from beneath the visor of the helmet with handling characteristics, g-force readings, acceleration and deceleration points of the run, all that jazz. I really loved the persona that the show created for the Stig as this otherworldy, almost robotic driving ace.

[@TobRacer]

He'll always be the stig to me even helmet off. All these glorious moments and absolute talent he had on screen on Sunday nights not just being funny but also driving like a hero ("James" vs the late Sabine Schmitz at Zolder). As a French kid grewing up in France with my British dad who tuned on the BBC when I was around, I saw this white suited character and he got my attention. Thanks to Top Gear, I learned to hear and speak English very quickly. The Stig despite not saying a single word was actually talking a lot for himself with his static inexpressive "face" and I loved that, it was so easy to understand even though at 6 years old I couldn't understand any English. Yes of course the trio always played a big part of why I learned English and love cars, but the Stig also got my eternal recognition for lighting up my child interest. Ben if you read, Thank you. Happy to follow you in your future adventures on your KZbin channel "Ben Collins Drives".

[@JoshuaC923]

Very cool👍🏻

[@workingguy-OU812]

Thank you for letting me know about the channel "Ben Collins Drives" - just found it, subbed.

[@usaclaimsthemoon4198]

This dude was so cool growing up. If he ever comes back, would love to hear the story of the spin out and his thoughts of Schumacher crushing his records and being revealed as the stig

[@NefastusJones]

Some say...he didn't mind being beaten by THE legend of motorsport and he made a pretty good buck doing it. All we know is...he used to be The Stig.

[@ysa5483]

I imagine he spoke about a few stories, this is the first of them

[@warrendevine7459]

I was lucky enough to get an invite to be in the audience, money can’t buy the tickets, when Ben was still The Stig and was a great 4 and a half hours spent, in 2006! F1 driver Jenson Button and actor Ray Winstone were the guests! Something I’ll never forget! Ben was a very good Stig, what a job to have had!

[@BenCollinsDrives]

Jenson was awesome - Ray too that was a cool episode. Jenson knew me so which made the helmet a bit redundant...

[@squeakers27]

Currently 71 views but i see this becoming one of most highly viewed episodes.

[@hb6187]

Totally agree! I love this mans story!

[@tyflos098]

This man is a legend to us we sre a bit older

[@TechIOwn]

I clicked thinking it was Ben Collins, then thought maybe they got the American Stig, happy my initial impression was correct.

[@altergreenhorn]

Some say, you may be right

[@BucksCorner101]

I was your 69th like. Giggity

[@fbboringstuff]

Recall in the mid 00’s I was on a British motorsports forum site were someone had a bunch of early KZbin clips of this unknown race driver Ben collins insisting he was the the STIG. STIG popped up in the chat and denied all. I called the STIG soft for refusing to do lap times unless it was bone dry, the very next week… supercar in damp conditions…

[@joelambert7128]

I believe Collins was on the entry list for the 24hr race Top Gear contested, pretty much confirming that he was the Stig. If this person had guessed who it was before 2007 though that's good going!

[@fbboringstuff]

@@joelambert7128 was before that. Had him in a stock car race soaking wet at Rockingham Motor Speedway taking off into the distance.

[@squid_fish]

Some say, he makes a sandwich with no bread.

[@sharingstoke]

Some say, he can impregnate a woman just by looking at her.

[@alexthompson5172]

And that he only eats cheese

[@theunluckycharm9637]

Oh boy the replies will be funny

[@SosopChabot]

@@sharingstoke I think your wife lied to you.

[@jdavis54]

@@SosopChabot💀

[@FicarraClassic]

The most famous person no one recognizes. Legend. More stories from The Stig!

[@TheFirBall]

While I was visiting England I drove to Dumsford Aerodome. I wanted to see the track but was only allowed on far enough to turn around. I did find the only Pub in town and drank all afternoon with some locals. We talked about Top Gear, Harriet's, British Royal and US Marines...and drank lots of beer

[@ErikGenerik76]

Some say he knows 2 directions. Fast and Red. Also, it's NOT James May.

[@Talasas]

Man how cool to have The Stig in studio. I bet you never thought that would happen 👍

[@danielcrane1682]

The channel has come a long way. Well done, Ed and company

[@jus__gra]

Couldn’t tap fast enough for this, stig is some man!

[@crf80fdarkdays]

This guys a ledgend and actually replied to a few comments witch is cool to see, used to love watching the stig all the way from australia

[@bicyclist2]

Very cool. I'm sure that this is the interview everyone, including me, has been waiting for! I was a little saddened that he didn't last a little longer on Top Gear. I'd like to hear a longer interview, where he talks about some of the cars, especially spinning the Koenigsegg CCX with no wing. I remember he got fired for writing a book. With the popularity of Top Gear being what it was, I'd expect this to get many millions of views. Thank you.

[@doubleutubefan5]

Some say he once punted a deer into the trees on a time attack course, aaanndd that, that deer still hasn't come down, to this day. All we know is, HES CALLED THE STIG!

[@CrackedCandy]

That gave me chills

[@vimsi]

I've read this with Clarksons Voice in my Head!

[@assoluttogamerx]

Good old days

[@thatloudCG5]

😂😂😂😂😂

[@JohnWiku]

Lulu vs max silverstone 2021 😂😂

[@Rascofresco11]

Some say he once went to the Virgin Islands, and now they're just islands

[@drdremd]

The BEN COLLINS on Vin Wik! Ed has MADE IT!

[@bicyclist2]

My thoughts exactly!

[@BenCollinsDrives]

Think it's the other way around - Ed is like the Yoda of KZbin for gearheads

[@CrackedCandy]

It's THE STIG!

[@chippy519]

When does he get Corey Eubanks!

[@samsteele1786]

I named my cat after the Stig. You're the man Ben.

[@BenCollinsDrives]

thank you - what does the cat drive?

[@samsteele1786]

A purrrgeot

[@BucksCorner101]

​@@samsteele1786 Beautifully executed pun my friend

[@Adolf_Meowtler]

@@samsteele1786 purrrari

[@12pagani]

I remember the mail section and someone complained about the stigs name as their cat was called stig, and Richard said “STIGG, see those slippers? Pee in them”

[@matthewandress1229]

Great video Ed!!! I have always enjoyed Mr. Collins and could listen to him tell stories all day. In other words, bring him back if you can!

[@RobJaskula]

That 11 minutes flew by! Looking forward to part 2 and loving Ben's expanding presence on KZbin - would love to see more with AutoAlex, such a lovable idiot!

[@GTSCarLife]

Been a while, but finally another GREAT video!

[@violinmiata]

The legendary Stig! Funny thing is that I was up late watching Ben Collins channel last night, today more Ben collins!

[@BenCollinsDrives]

some say that I bought KZbin with a small loan from Elon Musk

[@Yourmission9]

Best Vinwiki episode ever, been a huge fan of Top Gear from the beginning

[@hb6187]

Keep up the great content!

[@samsteele1786]

Nice job Ed. Loving the content. Ben's always been a hero of mine. Would love to see some more creators like Auto Alex, Adam C340 etc on the channel.

[@railerswim]

Some say he puts lego sets together without reading the instructions. Some say he gets great reception under both helmets. All we know is, he's called the Stig!

[@ItzzzBeamo]

I can put lego sets together without the directions. Now… They won’t *look* like whats on the box, but I can do it.

[@jermainerobinson7098]

Ben Collins / the stig a legend who can drive a car he was getting faster times than all of the racing drivers who came on the show top gear was golden tv back in the day every Sunday l was glued some men are glued to football l was glued to top gear 👏🏽🤜🏽🥂

[@Kyntteri]

The Stig was like a real world superhero for me. Secret identity, suit, mask (kind of) and special abilities. What's not to like.

[@tekenator]

Congrats Ed! Ben is such a legend...almost as big as Christopher!

[@deejayyy1681]

You know what's funny... I never paid too much attention to uncovering who the Stig was, and I didn't watch enough news to see the headlines 😅 I'm just now finding out THIS is the stig 😳 Awesome episode 👏

[@MrProducingone]

I’ve worked with Ben on a few occasions. He is an absolute machine on the road and track as well as a lovely person. Well done

[@aumkar2]

Oh wow, amazing to see Mr. Ben Collins on the channel. LEGEND.

[@meteorafallen]

I could listen to Ben go on all day about his adventures as the Stig. Grew up watching Top Gear and loved the show and the people. If you have an extended version of this, I would totally watch it!

[@Craftyboy89]

Some say that his genitals are on upside down, and that if he could be bothered he could crack the da vinci code in 43 seconds. All we know is he’s called the Stig.

[@PitWChannel]

Do you think the Stig even has a stick?

[@xyroah]

Despite knowing his entire story on top gear from his book this was amazing and I hope there are more recordings to come! Stiggy was definitely an important character of the show and it’s sad they couldn’t bring it on grand tour.

[@theadventuresofjavier8698]

“Next on VinWiki American stig drives a dodge pickup to the store to buy coors beer “

[@vivlozn]

I met him this past weekend at Atlanta Motorsports Park Club, after he set the Lap record in a Praga. I was blown away that I met one of my favorite motorsports legend.

[@BenCollinsDrives]

great track - pleasure meeting you

[@mwishart220]

One of Clarkson's best lines after Ben let it be known that he was the previous Stig and wrote a book, "Well, we're not going to teach this one to read or write!"

[@FinallyFreeChannel]

This is the first time I am seeing who the stig was and believing it. Thanks for posting this!

[@CasualQuasar]

This is probably the highlight of my year so far, my Stig reveal!

[@Barton_Motors_Ltd]

Childhood memories. This show shaped us as car guys. One of your best episodes yet Ed, thanks!

[@joshdobson2737]

Still rock a "what about the Stig" sticker on the back window!

[@1coolsoundguy]

Would definitely love to hear lots of stories from Mr Collins!!!

[@AmericanStig-3]

Some say that you have to unlock him by running your finger down his face, like that, and in a late-night deal, he bought a slightly dented white Fiat Uno from the Duke of Edinburugh. All we know is he's called The Stig.

[@tj_enju]

The right thing to say here is 'thank you SO MUCH Ben Collins', tv stations this side of the world like to drown and suffocate 'the nice' Top Gear episodes in ads about safedriving and the dangers of speeding, and speedkills, but Stig was an ambassador for safe driving... and that is something that doesn't come out a lot when we here about Stig. He always wore a helmet, always handled the role of 'the professional driver' with all seriousness, always trained the guests... he somehow ultimately baked it in that training and prep came before trying anything extreme in a car

[@jakekoehler1]

The STIG. The "best" driver for arguably the best automotive series of its time!!

[@ndafarachaitezvi1139]

Awesome as always.Thanks for sharing and taking us along

[@ashp5406]

Some say he is Myth, some say he is Legend, all we know he is called THE STIG.................

[@christopherhuber2517]

Loved the character you played. Did a great job.

[@DaleEJames]

Would Love to hang out with Ben, he seems like such a great person.

[@BenCollinsDrives]

keep you posted on my travels - next big stop will be Goodwood festival of speed

[@danholland8722]

@@BenCollinsDrives gutted I missed you at Petrolheadonism Underground i was there on the Saturday

[@VasileVatamanu]

The man, the myth, the legend, so many good memories watching the old Top Gear.

[@wingracer1614]

I still want to know who all of the Stig's cousins are. Especially African cousin and American cousin (big stig).

[@a_m4608]

Happy to have lived best teen years watching top gear,Ben Collins is equally legendary alongside the trio.

[@MegaNayton]

I worked on top gear for 8 years... "music and intro plays" 🤯

[@mr.hernandezdrives]

amazinggg character, love how secretive it was, never wanted to know who the stig was, but as the years passed and everything matures, the stig and his aura and mistery aged properly.. top gear was the best

[@Ohiotrucker1]

All we know is he's called the Stig

[@willmtaylor]

What a score of an interview. PLEASE say we’re getting more stories from Mr. Collins!

[@funtimekid1199]

Holy crap it's the stig

[@rych7852]

One of my favourite (of probably hundreds!) bits of old TG was when they were following the former military guys who had been injured and were aiming to get to the Dakar. Ben was advising them on driving, and Hammond was doing the piece. Obviously they staged the "awkwardness" but you could see that there was a real friendship still between them all

[@mikehunntt5338]

I been dieing to meet the stig and hear his story and it's great 😂😂😂

[@azhar1798]

HOLY SHIT!!! IT'S THE STIG!!!!

[@toddventura7191]

Great vid! thanks for uploading. Absolutely loved watching TopGear and seeing the Stig rip up that circuit. Legend.

[@RebelsInc969]

Being a UK truck driver I had the Tshirt saying " I am the stigs fat cousin" ✌👍

[@sttream6410]

Ben is such a good storyteller we need him back more !!!

[@the_frankc]

Watch this before Top Gear takes it down 😂

[@Ticklestein]

3:14 - That helmet was on for other reasons in that photo.

[@PELEGSM]

Wow What an amazing story

[@BurpleRX7]

Was at the filming a few times, it’s a great experience and you get to see and meet all the cast. I have since worked in the automotive space and delivered a few cars to the top gear track and his right, it’s literally the hangar set up and then outside a few very old and broken modular buildings. Lots of interesting business surrounding the hangar too I do miss driving into central London and seeing the stig cut out stood up in the old top gear writing offices. A friend had a business proposition he was putting to them before the “incident” where people could come along and do a track day in a reasonably priced car identical to the TG one on the same track to compare to all there favourite celebrities. Unfortunately that idea died with Topgear

[@NYHeeb]

The man the myth the legend

[@Breeeezy787]

Still the most legendary man on earth. Thank you for making my childhood awesome STIG! 🤘🏽

[@RonHaslam2001]

Some say The Stig is the god of all petrolhead ❤

[@deltas4764]

He is. One of few I'd say

[@dominickdolio2414]

Thank you sooooo much for this!!! Production is intense.

[@reventon4547]

Some say he's been releasing pop records under the pseudonym Lady Gaga, and that he's terrified the BBC will reveal his salary, because he's paid in strong pornography. All we know is he's called The Stig!

[@Legoman585]

Dude in Australia back in the day the only race car footage we got was Bathurst. Bathurst was so cool me and my dad watched all day every year but that was it. Then Top gear arrived. Being part of the Empire back then, we got it on regular TV, No internet. Highlight of my week. Dude you will always be the fourth member of Top gear for me.

[@ThePokemondongos]

I wanted to know what he felt when they gave the credit to Michael Schumacher

[@BenCollinsDrives]

I felt total relief - it kept me in the job for about another year!

[@ImTHATguy...]

You were a great STIG. Thanks for all the great episodes!

[@Almighty_cornholio]

He knows 3 facts about ducks…and they are all wrong

[@Colin_Holloway]

Great interview. The first clues I got that Ben was The Stig, was in the crash report for Richard Hammond's jet car incident. The report was released in June 2007 and listed Ben as someone "who worked closely with Top Gear as a high performance driver and consultant".

[@kellyscars]

I liked Kung Fu Stig. He was my favorite!

[@wingracer1614]

That was a good one. I have to go with Big Stig though

[@trailingrails9953]

That's the one thing that amazed me about Wilman - the quality of what they put out was so damn consistent, and though it was the same format for near 20 years, it still managed to not get stale.

[@mrt.5689]

This man taught everyone to keep your mouth shut to get somewhere!!!

[@josephbergman88]

It’s absolutely amazing to see this legend on here!!

[@KeithWilson-v8p]

Some say......

[@SeiPokGuy]

What a true gentleman, I don't think Ben Collins knows how important his role as THE Stig was for the best era of Top Gear. He's so humble and really lives up to the Legendary status he truly deserves.

[@reventon4547]

Some say that he has to take his shoes off with an Allen wrench, and that he has been producing artificial sperm for years, even though we have repeatedly asked him not to. All we know is he's called The Stig!

[@themike97_58]

i really wanted this to be the stig in his racing suit just sitting there saying nothing for 11 minutes

[@anthonyfernandes1656]

Who misses old top gear 👇

[@mndlessdrwer]

The golden age of Top Gear was truly legendary and while imitators will always exist in various shapes and forms, I don't think they will ever be able to recapture that same feeling. The Grand Tour, while quite good, struggles to achieve what Top Gear during those days did. I think part of it is due to the very real potential for lawsuits from the BBC, part of it is just the crew getting older. There's various reasons why it's so difficult to capture that particular lighting in a bottle a second time. Of the attempts, I do think Car Trek is one of the better ones. Ed really fills the role that Jeremy Clarkson filled in Top Gear, just with more suave attitude. But I think they've gotten as close as they want to attempt to get before they risk flying too close to the sun and melting the wax of their wings, so they've stuck to the challenges and expeditions with VinWiki serving as the interview portion of the show, just self-managed pacing and storytelling instead of a back-and-forth interaction that television necessitates due to time limitations.

[@anthonyfernandes1656]

@@mndlessdrwer well spoken sir😀