Americans! Top Gear USA is back this Tuesday

Five months have passed since fans of the American Top Gear last saw Rutledge, Adam and Tanner abusing sheet metal. Fear not, Rut’s head remains large, Tanner small and Adam without mechanical sympathy. And if you’re in America, the boys are back on Tuesday, February 14 at 9/8c on the History Channel, kicking off a run of eight all-new episodes. Let your honey know that their St. Valentine’s Day plans now involve a romantic spread of Chinese takeout, your TV, semi trucks and Ed Burns.

The hosts left off in September by building tributes to their favourite Hollywood hero cars; this episode finds them in the mechanical mecca of Michigan looking for a different kind of hero. Adam, Rut and Tanner vie for the chance to become American royalty by competing to be crowned King of the Road. In just a few hours, the hosts must master 70 foot, 20 ton, articulated, diesel-chuffing tractor trailers.

Trucks aren’t just central to America’s open-road culture; they’re big business, handling 70% of the nation’s freight, covering over 150 billion miles and carrying over 2/3rds of a trillion dollars a year in cargo. If the nation’s 3.5 million truck drivers could figure it out, it should be a snap for the hosts, right? Handed two Volvos and a very large and chromed Peterbilt, the boys learn the ropes at the Eaton Proving Grounds before transporting cargo on alarmingly public roads.

You will not be surprised to learn that Rutledge has spent time in a big rig, which he claims was spent behind the wheel and not in the sleeper cab. His resulting confidence may help him in challenges including a drag race, precision reversing, a hill start and a 3-wide, one-lap run for the money. This is all just training for the final challenge of the day: transporting precious, precarious and flammable cargo to a depot 40 miles distant.

Later in the show, prolific actor, director and muscle car enthusiast Ed Burns visits the studio for a chat with Adam and quickly establishes cred via ownership of a tasty big-block Cutlass. A proponent of low-budget film-making, Ed jumps into our low-budget Suzuki for a go at the leader board.

Tune in, American fans of the American Top Gear – it’s on History this Tuesday at 9/8 central, and we have a great run of episodes cued up. You can see older episodes on the History Channel Top Gear site and get breaking news on the Top Gear USA Facebook Page. Let us know what you think!

Next story

Previous story