The Stig’s SECRETS of “Star In a Reasonably Priced Car”

[@BenCollinsDrives]

Tom Cruise almost reduced the producer to tears when he popped the star car onto two wheels & it looked like we were about to witness a major catastrophe. But Tom calmly feathered the throttle, landed it Top Gun style and posted his fastest time. A living legend 😎🙌

[@edwhitson9873]

I'm glad to finally know who the stig is and hear some stories, as an American I imagined you to be everyone except for, well you. Amazing shows, awesome mystery man. Thanks

[@ICKY427]

it really was sharp. the fact he drive through it instead of just panicking, cutting the wheel right and slamming it back down.

[@charlie1832]

Did you talk to the stars in the reasonably priced car while they did practice laps ?

[@WAF74]

Ben, do you have any memories or a story to share from your time in the Koenigsegg? Such a beautiful car. Such a horrible Range Rover.

[@van_trippin5260]

he has Xenu on his side!

[@michaelwieber1857]

This man is possibly the most humble man in the world. A straight up ICON. Meets Michael Schumacher and is in awe. Not realizing the WORLD believed for a minute that Michael Schumacher was the Stig. Possibly the greatest compliment for any racer IMO. A true legend right here.

[@ea5yliver]

I remember BEFORE that episode when he was on various different lists of who the Stig had to be. 😂

[@BabyCharlotteschannel]

Yeah, it's been really cool hearing from Ben and the stories of what happened and stuff!! Such a great, humble gentleman with driving skills that are actually close to being as good as I am 😮🎉🎉😂

[@colin5577]

Nobody with even half a clue believed for a millisecond that Michael Schumacher, one of the busiest and best paid sportsmen in the World at the time, took time out of his week to punt celebrities around a Sussex airstrip in a Suzuki.

[@mityaboy4639]

@@colin5577 actually i thought that there were two stigs… one dealing with the celebrities stunt and one who actually did the fast times with the cars. i mean dealing with celebrities you dont need to be a race driver … just an instructor… similar to the ones you have training people who to drive on tricky terrain… on those experience days. so when Schumacher removed the hat… well… i just felt that my theory was confirmed… then of course quickly realised that MSC cant be the Stig anyway… he was travelling the world back and forth with F1 - made it impossible to jump back to the UK to do some crazy lap times with some cars… i dont think he would have rejected it … based on his character… he enjoyed driving whatever really… but the schedule was impossible for him anyway… now we know that there was one stig at the time… boy i miss the old setup of Top Gear … and MSC too.

[@jasonrhodes9726]

I heard that rumor, but also Louis Hammilton, he is a good Englishman.

[@paulcarmi8130]

Now THIS is who we wanna see! Thanks Ed!

[@ZHF0rd]

*said in a Doug DeMuro voice*

[@Biebs74]

​@@ZHF0rd 😂😂😂 damnit!

[@markoz673bajen8]

"I beat ED"

[@EdBolian]

Such an honor to have Ben in the chair.

[@sethmark]

What a pull. You’re a legend.

[@paulcarmi8130]

I’ve watched every top gear 1000 times, grand tour, Clarksons farm, I watched every perfect road trip and clarksons car years, to see Ben on the best car channel is incredible 🫡

[@608tttv]

He’s got hands and a heart we wish to have

[@kriptiksoulja]

Years of watching top gear never did i think I would hear the amazing stories from the stig please do more

[@matthewhammond3019]

The stig was like a main character and all his dialog was in tire smoke and lap times

[@sfm.x]

Vettel doing such a Vettel thing...checking tyre pressures. Top Gear was amazing at its peak

[@J03130]

"That's quite german"

[@the_kombinator]

Peak? The whole series is a peak.

[@sfm.x]

@The Kombinator The Days of Jeremy, James and Hammond were epic...after they left it was never the same

[@kurtsudheim825]

​@@the_kombinator no it wasn't, go look at the all the nos, go check the early episodes

[@EmyrDerfel]

Classic Inspector Seb moment.

[@deadmansfire]

Surely Ben is one of the best guests at VinWiki. Hope that he got to record more stories

[@BabyCharlotteschannel]

No doubt, he must have hundreds more great stories!!

[@rickym5474]

Well yeah, he's not some rich guy recalling the dumb stuff he did in a supercar on public roads. He's the real deal.

[@bendeleted9155]

And he has gis own channel, BenCollinsDrives

[@simoncarter5951]

People criticised Boris Johnson for loosing to a man without any sight. They need to cut him a bit of slack and remember that Boris did it without the use of a brain.

[@dunhillsupramk3]

oh come on the guy couldn't have been that bad.. i meant sure i dislike politicians just as much as the next guy (due to the fact they almost NEVER do what they said and only want votes) but i'm sure he did try....

[@joshua.snyder]

Like Trump here in the States.

[@dunhillsupramk3]

@@joshua.snyder nah Trump was the only one that actually did what he said he was going to do.... i still don't like the guy but i'll vote for him...

[@joshua.snyder]

@@dunhillsupramk3 That's your right, glad people use it and hopefully encourage others to do the same.

[@dunhillsupramk3]

@@joshua.snyder voting for leaders shouldn't be a popularity contest... take England for example they're so caught up in political parties that they forget they ultimately pledge allegiance to their king (a monarchy), the funny part is thats the actual law over there, even tho the UN don't allow total monarchs if you look at their laws they pledge their allegiances to a monarch (not the country of England, not for democratic freedoms BUT a monarch) and in order to be a British citizen you HAVE to concede that according to their own laws...

[@spddracer]

LoL Jimmy Carr being completely careless is totally on point for him. :D

[@OtaconHalMGS]

His nickname was Jimmy Carmaggedon afterall

[@JCDenton95]

Ah yes, the tax evading Federer lookalike

[@joshuawhelan9358]

He did a lap twice. In the Liana he was extremely quick and was fastest until Ellen Macarthur beat him by 0.2s. Then in the Lacetti he really didn't give a shit and had a lap time that was the 2nd slowest ever as he had spun off 😂 (only beat Damien Lewis who dealt with huge amounts of snow)

[@calysagora3615]

@@JCDenton95 I haven't heard that about him, but cool, avoiding taxtortion is a good thing. I don't like Carr much, his politics mostly sucks, but I like him a little more now.

[@xhorxhi77]

he used to be

[@schit4brainz]

I read Ben's book a long time ago and what I found amazing was the juxtaposition of him being the Stig on the world's most famous television show one day and the next he'd be hauling a full kit around the welsh counrty side doing his military duties and training. I'll never get tired of his story telling.

[@OlDuckOffroad]

Best guest ever, "The Stig" is one of my all-time favorite TV characters. Listening to Ben tell behind the scene stories of his time on Top Gear is awesome.

[@the_kombinator]

I was the Stig for haloween in like, 2009 or something. Still have the white helmet, sees occasional track use.

[@Ocerry1]

Boris getting smoked by a blind guy is by far the funniest takeaway from that.

[@billyhess5263]

I would LOVE to hear Ben talk about his first Koeniggsegg experience both before and after the wing!

[@TheBigENN]

oh thats a nice one! hope it will happen one day

[@realMaverickBuckley]

Have a read of his book. It's brilliant (partly because this was just one string to his bow, he was also in the SAS etc). Apparently he took the car out and told them 'It really, REALLY needs downforce on higher speed corners' but because at the time they were known for top speed they didn't have a wing. They came back with a car with a properly designed wing and he said it was an absolute transformation.

[@stalliondan1]

He does discuss this on the other video on this channel. Worth a watch. So happy they had Ben on here. Great job.

[@MrReese]

I feel like I could listen to Ben for hours with all these amazing stories.

[@gljnjo]

I still remember that "blind lap" it was the most amazing thing they did for somebody

[@MrRootMusic]

He still cannot get over the fact that Rubens Barricello beat his time, because he mentioned that more than once :D

[@JoshuaC923]

I still remember him giving out "i did not beat the stig" shirts😂😂😂

[@Stevesixty7]

Slightly different track conditions

[@Borderline5440]

That became a running gag on the show. They joked about it numerous times and it was one of the very few things that elicited any kind of response from The Stig.

[@Julius_Hardware]

Racing driver excuses

[@StreetPreacherr]

What did he mean that they 'extended the track'? Did they somehow make it WIDER in certain corners so he could maintain more momentum? I know from doing track days in my car that with 'underpowered' vehicles it's ALL about carrying as much speed as possible through the corners, since 'regular' cars don't tend to accelerate very well...

[@diysecuritygear9594]

I wish top gear could be made again. Exactly as it was, personalities and all. It was such a part of my middle years. Greatest thing ever produced.

[@matthewwalker5430]

Yeah, it was great for almost 15 years and then the BBC messed it up. To be honest, as much as I love JC, Hammond & May, the BBC could have made it work if they weren't total cretins. Why they thought they needed to replace 3 motoring journalists with actual TV stars, whether they are into cars or not, I don't know. The best guys on the newer Top Gears are always the motoring journalists, and they are always pushed to the background and as they're just the "motoring journalist" hosting alongside actual TV stars and Sporting legends their on-screen chemistry always feels forced, unlike Clarkson, Hammond & May.

[@Rascofresco11]

Some say he once broke the land speed record on a yatch with no wheels, all we know is he's called The Stig!

[@thejman3489]

There is a water speed record. You have to wait for just the perfect conditions to do the run. If your boat catches air at high speeds the water will tear your boat apart and you will die. It's extremely dangerous.

[@superlazy3355]

​@@thejman3489 some say, he once saw a comment and completely missed the context

[@the_kombinator]

Most ask, what's a yatch?

[@RatelHBadger]

Some say, he's completely flummoxed by spell-check...

[@the_kombinator]

@@RatelHBadger ...and that he hates red snakes. All we know is that he's called The Stig.

[@exit6ban]

the stig was my favorite superhero when i was little

[@123iniko]

Finally Ben is getting some recognition. I bought his book just when it was released and subsequently when he was fired by the producers. I remember he was being mocked just after by the trio in the next episodes. The funny story is a Polish television hired him as a presenter for a car programme as himself (not as Stig) where he tested a couple of cars. I know it as I am Polish and I was very glad back then that I can still watch him even though he's no longer been a Stig.

[@bigmaxcc]

Agreed 👍👏

[@jeffroth1731]

The Schumacher FXX episode was one of my favorites. It was pretty epic.

[@edwhitson9873]

As an American I have really enjoyed the two videos with the stig. For me the identity was a mystery until now. Thank you

[@JCDenton95]

Wow really… how big was the rock you lived under? I’m American and I knew this

[@juliantaffa4089]

He wrote a book called The Man In The White Suit

[@ileutur6863]

​@@JCDenton95 most people stopped giving a crap after the trio left BBC, including myself

[@Brinta3]

⁠@@ileutur6863 That excuse doesn’t hold water. Ben Collins was revealed as The Stig in 2010, the trio quit Top Gear in 2015.

[@nealprentice7874]

Amazing how he remembers all the details after all the years.

[@MK-1010]

...... All we know is, he's called THE STIG! So happy to see Ben on here. Absolute legend, and great story teller! Also a true professional with remembering the lap times, even years later.

[@kurtsudheim825]

Nothing about professionalism, just good memory, & maybe jealousy or something

[@robertjackson5836]

I don't know why but Jennifer Saunders being a secret driving ace leaves me smiling ear to ear. 😊

[@Stevesixty7]

You know why, we all fancied her back in the day. Ade is a lucky guy 😂

[@jerbear7952]

I very much enjoyed this trivia as well

[@maartendehoog8527]

Well, she is trained to drive faster than paparazzi 😂

[@SlyNine]

Except the whole woman thing was bs. But if it makes people feel good, why not.

[@Kylirr]

​@@SlyNinewdym

[@jrbuch]

I could listen to Ben talk about his Top Gear memories all day. I loved that show, the guests and the challenges. This was great to listen to.

[@Ajtoh]

Please, more Ben Collins’ stories! These are fantastic.

[@xKrispyx]

Ben is one of my motoring heroes, mostly from his roles as the Stig, but the more I learn about him and watch his own content, the more I appreciate him!

[@surferdude4487]

The Stig was part of the chemistry that made Top Gear so popular. His introduction was part of the show I always looked forward to.

[@stephen3164]

I’ve been driving manual cars for 30 years, and quite familiar with driving compact ecoboxes at their limits. I’d love to think I’d put a fast lap time down after some instructions from The Stig, but what I learned in my brief European driving experience was that old habits die hard, and driving from the right front seat and shifting with my left hand was like trying to learn how to use a fork and knife with my feet. I constantly would misjudge where on the road the car was, and instinctively would look up to the right to glance at my review mirror - that was obviously not on that side. In reality, I’d likely put down a terrible lap time there.

[@mrnewvegas1126]

My best friends dad, Vince Hanley taught Tom Cruise how to drive for days of thunder. He said he picked up on it very fast so I don’t know how much extra training he had between then and Top Gear but I’m pretty sure he was a leadfoot to begin with.

[@mhagnew]

Tom Cruise is one of those special breeds who will be good at whatever they apply themselves towards. If he wasn't an actor he'd be a top class athlete or driver. I don't care for his Scientology business and I know nothing of his personal life but he is definitely one of the exceptional people.

[@fosterfuchs]

@@mhagnew Tom Cruise is an exceptional actor, and I enjoy watching the movies he's in. But I have zero interest in meeting him in person.

[@cdncitizen4700]

Not just "some say", but literally EVERY guest commented how patient and brilliant The Stig was. Brilliant driver and character. Now do a show on the Stig's worldwide cousins ! LOLOL

[@xblade1x1x]

This is by far one of the best videos I've ever seen getting to see the behind the scenes through the eyes of the Stig. Who i absolutely adored while he was working with top gear. Thank you guys very much

[@shiftonephoto]

Hell yeah 🤘🏼 Some say he has frequent staring contests with the sun, and always wins

[@Nathan93Baker]

The Stig is still my favourite Power Ranger.😎

[@chrisinoz886]

Myself and my wife were in the audience for the Schumacher show, amazing surprise to see him. Also a great day very interesting to see how the show ran.

[@violinmiata]

Ben is a legend, so happy to hear him tell the tales from behind the scenes

[@archabe]

The Stig as a character is legendary. I would love to see him cameo in a Cannonball run type movie.

[@VINwiki]

What was your favorite Top Gear segment?

[@lukesmith8934]

The cool wall

[@MrPypro]

The whole story of Hamster winching the Land Rover up the dam was incredible.

[@MrKrieger56]

Liked the reliant robin bit.

[@sakshamsharma5429]

The news segment

[@gljnjo]

Buying a cheap car and doing some challenge

[@RockyTopAviator]

I see Ben Collins, I click the like button, simple as that.

[@watchesandburgers]

One of the better VINwiki segments. Kudos to The Stig!

[@petersimpson5859]

Jennifer Saunders loves her cars and has had quite a few powerful ones, XK8 amongst them. She's probably used to going pretty fast.

[@JimmyCasket02]

Looking at Ben and listening to him talk you’d never expect him to be the beast he is behind the wheel very humble

[@HighRiderSonoma]

Epic!!! Thank you Mr Ben Collins for not only forming my obsession with cars but millions of others across the World.

[@mitchrich6]

Michael Schumacher literally made the Stig feel like a nobody. That was how huge Michael was. Keep fighting Michael. We love you !

[@BigSteve_Gaming187]

Having you run one of their A-B races, showing a more basic yet humorous side of you the couple of races you ran in, really cemented the audiences as well as my interest and enthusiasm for the Stig. Leading a mystery as to who behind it certainly added to the chatecter that was created. You guys listened to the main issues of what the audience liked and didn't like without changing too much. Which is perfect as trying too hard will bring a show down. The cut scenes of your "vacation", people pulling you out of the boot, and having a different varient pending the location of where you where certainly added to the character, which for the most part made us appreciate the real Stig had cemented the character as well.

[@3sgteyota]

Always got excited like it was an actual race. I loved that part of the show.

[@idrivearttabletennis]

Loved this video - I always looked forward to "The Stig" on Top Gear.

[@alexbarbu2287]

Man, the old Top Gear was the best... it was pure entertainment, and to top it off, they had THE STIG... oh, the good times...

[@Fir3Chi3f]

Not going to lie, until Ben came out as the Stig I just always assumed "the Stig" was just whoever got the fastest time on the crew or friends or family or something. The "who" behind the Stig never mattered it was always about the legendary best time.

[@Ifinishedyoutube]

Finally some car stories I want to hear. I've heard all the car stories I didn't know I wanted to hear. And I thank you very much. One of your stories makes it into my research by the way.

[@yep-that-happened]

It must have been difficult to teach Cole Trickle how to turn right.

[@timsmith618]

The story about Seb Vettel checking the tire pressures on the Liana is maybe the most Vettel thing i've ever heard, wouldn't be surprised if he comes back to the sport as a team principal or something one day, when his kids are grown up maybe.

[@Taylor___]

Stig was a 1:44:4 but Lewis and Dani Ric were in 42's. But, we don't know if the rubber and pads were changed. Tires make a huge difference.

[@StreetPreacherr]

Good point, they MUST have had to change the brake pads on a regular basis, so the condition of the brakes could definitely have made a difference!

[@alanjameshorner]

some say he’s not the Stig, but he is the Stig’s decoy cousin!

[@lov3toplaymusic]

Mr. Ben Collins - a wonderfully gifted driver and instructor!

[@johnsimon8457]

I forget who said star was "Frustrating and exhilarating" and bits about how you can see how much of a skills gap is there between a skilled amateur to a professional. I liked hearing about the F1 drivers. Like getting a concert out of a child's toy piano.

[@ethanlockley]

Have been waiting, idk how many years to hear these stories. Never though I would see the day....yet here we are. Thank you for this.

[@rexpayne7836]

He is a great guest, a great channel, and always informative. 🇦🇺 😊

[@kevinmartin7354]

You guys are the closest thing we have to Top Gear now. You need to hire the Stig. Please.

[@MK-1010]

Definitely!! Use Ben (BBC owns the Stig character, I'm sure) in the next Car Trek!!!

[@swedeis]

Surprised Mr. Cruise forgot to mention that he raced with Paul Newman in the SCCA for a while and he was so gung-ho about his driving that turn worker crews began referring to those races as "See Cruise Crash Again" instead of SCCA aka Sportscar Club of America. Plus he did Days of Thunder and he's a licensed pilot and huge Motorcycle fan.

[@andrewwilliams5337]

Loved the insights Ben. Hopefully we’ll get to see more of you on here. 👍🏻

[@TEEDUBS]

7:05 Confirmed: The Kia c-apostrophe-d was indeed, red, not brown. This gives closure to a 13 year-long argument between myself and Clarkson (albeit through my computer screen at the time, and Jeremy has no idea who I am).

[@cliffordaugustus9646]

Ed Sheeran looked like a hobbit sitting next to Jeremy Clarkson.

[@SafetyThirdRC]

I still dress like the Stig for Halloween.

[@ConradNeill]

Why only for Halloween?

[@SafetyThirdRC]

@@ConradNeill Well I didn't want to admit that i were the Stig helmet when ever possible.

[@sennak1750]

The reason Michael didn't drive the Suzuki was because he had a contract saying he wasn't allowed to drive on a race track if the car didn't have a Ferrari badge on it! fun fact, not necessarily because he didn't want to drive it

[@forza1248]

I never realised this until Ben mentioned it in the video, it would have been interesting to see his lap time compared to the other F1 drivers

[@BrunodeSouzaLino]

And also the reason he did the FXX lap is because Ferrari said only Schumacher could drive the car.

[@walonsubi]

To quote Jeremy: "The Stig described Jimmy Carr as the worst driver he's ever seen and the luckiest man alive." I think he did a 1:46.

[@danieljohns9886]

Last time this early, TG would have had this pulled by now. Thankfully I caught the last story before it pulled.

[@jarletronerud]

Ben is a living legend and a role model!

[@johnpeikert6912]

Super awesome to meet the man, the myth the stig. Watched and appreciated your talents for years

[@jessebunker6062]

I would really love to meet Ben, this man is a professional in every sense of the word.

[@wendysunanmills7102]

Great video, long time watcher, new time finder of your channel!!! The Stig....Superb!

[@milk-it]

Such an awesome guest! What a great insight!

[@increase9896]

we were robbed of probably 8-10 more good years of Top Gear with Clarkson, May and Hammond

[@hayamax3539]

Vinwiki should have a mini go kart circuit where they take guests time and put it on wall.its like a mini top gear sesion

[@phjones01]

Loved this. In awe at the Tom Cruise part.

[@PitWChannel]

Please make another one with Ben Collins and let him talk about the challenge of doing all of this while the helmet can never come off... did people even understand him explaining the track?

[@InTruServ]

Brilliant episode, really enjoyed that thanks Ed 👍

[@bryanconner6112]

YES Ben calling out Rubens is GOLD

[@realmikcoretv]

Most epic video in years at KZbin. Thanks so much Vinwiki

[@Kintizen]

Remember this Channel when it had 3k subs... Now we getting The Stig. 😮

[@forresttrees1701]

Best VINwiki story to date. And that’s saying a lot

[@tahag2107]

It’s convenient he forgot to mention Daniel Ricciardo, who beat him by over a full second. 1:42.2 he did

[@LRS_RedBeard7]

This is one of the best channels, hands down

[@jama211]

Far out I accidently watched the whole video, it was just enthralling! Nice!

[@chrismac2234]

The name Stig I maintain is from Stig Blomquist, the rally driver. Of group B fame

[@joshua.snyder]

The BEST guest you've ever had!

[@holeefok3158]

Ben, the mandalorian in the car race art world.

[@gurhankaya]

The Schumacher episode is one of my favorite Tv moments ever.❤

[@quickisgod]

I say Ben needs to be a once a week story teller. With all the stories he has, surely that would get us through the next decade.

[@philiprice7875]

there is an ep where he raced a kid on a skateboard but he was De-Stigged (because the kid beat him?)

[@JureŠujica]

Wow, Ben! Ed, that is another level!

[@HeliRy]

The Diaz/Cruise episode is by far the greatest ever. Damn near pissed my pants 😂😂

[@ianhopping105]

And went for it. They really wanted it.

[@CodeBlueNurburgringAtom]

LEGEND! Such a down to earth and cool guy.

[@nr14989]

Amazing content! 👍⭐️🚀

[@ryanhoffmann9341]

What does he mean by extended the track? I guess filling in areas that were getting beat up? I would be very interested in hearing more about that.

[@EdBolian]

They paved the inside of one of the more challenging corners since it was wearing away.

[@BenCollinsDrives]

We used to run wide at the last corners onto the grass edge and starting turning into a bit of a hole.. so they filled the hole with concrete which made the track wider and therefore faster. This was the section that assisted my nemesis: Barrichello 🤪🤣

[@ThereAreNoHandlesLeft]

​@@BenCollinsDrives Tell us how you really feel about Rubens, Ben 😂😂😂

[@Fabulousprofound168]

The glory days of Top Gear.

[@Carstuff111]

For the simple fact I am a huge fan of Ben and the guys, I would likely have been mostly speechless!

[@stephenmaximo4017]

Ed Sheeran looks like a Hobbit compared to Clarkson 😂

[@ApolloVIIIYouAreGoForTLI]

11:14 Seriously, Seeing Mansell without a mustouche is as jarring as seeing Mario without one... Google "Super Mario No Moustache" & you'll see what I mean.

[@ttgg1564]

Micheal in the FX, wow, just...wow... so long, and thanks for all the fish. ❤

[@Cheiff117]

Billy baxter actually unreal performance