The stig

[Simo]

http://www.yourtv.com.au/news/index.cfm?i=130375

Fans of Top Gear will know The Stig, the anonymous driver who races in the cult auto show's "Star in a Reasonably Priced Car" segment... but no one knows exactly who The Stig is. He's always seen in a racing suit and helmet that hides his entire body, he never speaks, and his true identity has never been revealed.

Or has it?

In an interview with British lad rag Nuts, Comedian Omid Djalili claimed The Stig is none other than English racing car driver Lewis Hamilton.

"When I was on Top Gear around two years ago, I asked the The Stig how old he was," Djalili told Nuts. "He said, 'I'm 21' - the same age Lewis Hamilton would've been two years ago."

"When I asked the producers who The Stig is, they said, 'All you need to know is that, in about two years' time you'll hear a lot about the person who plays him'," the comedian continued. "They'll deny it of course because they're sworn to secrecy. I think it's part of the contract. But I'm telling you, it's Lewis Hamilton!"

[MT]

I thought it was several ex F1 drivers, hence why he is always in costume.

Eh who cares, the mystery is good enough for me!

[Dead]

It's Nelson

[theDefiant1]

It's Nelson

Would Nelson wear only white? I thought he was into super-fab ghey colours...

[MR22ZZ]

It's Nelson

lol... maybe the American BIG Stig...

[selyaT]

Lol it's a different stig each time... tall stig short stig fat stig... I'm with mick

[J e r e M y]

Yeah..he`s owes changing in size n height

[Steve]

the stig is Ben Collins.. i know somone who knows him wink wink

there have been a few though

[Hiro]

I highly doubt that _the_ Stig is Lewis Hamilton, considering several things.

1) The white Stig has been around since the start of season 3, which aired in November 2003. Lewis Hamilton would have been 19 at the time of filming. Highly unlikely the BBC would let a 19 year old, no matter how talented, hoon around in such cars as a Gallardo.

2) By looking at the gap between his racing suit and his helmet, it has been determined that (at least sometimes) the Stig is a white male with dark hair. Lewis Hamilton is a dark-skinned male with very short shaved black hair

3) When Hamilton did he F1 Star in a Reasonably Priced Car drive, he was only 0.3 seconds slower than the Stig's time, and on a wet track too. It is generally regarded that a wet track is 2 seconds slower than a dry one, thus Hamilton is 1.7 seconds faster around the track than the Stig.

4) According to one of the stunt drivers on Top Gear, the Stig is not played by one person. Thus, it _could_ have been Hamilton, but definitely not all the time

5) Stig does speak, but never on camera. Thus, it would be expected that a very high profile F1 driver, who often speaks on camera, would not be a good choice for the Stig when he is coaching the celebrities.

[Leroy]

It's one guy....

his name is "The Stig"

haha...leave it at that, don't spoil it for me.

Seriously speaking though, the old stig (the black costume from season 1 and 2) was one guy: Perry Mcarthy - ex formula 1 test driver for Mclaren amongst others. This was unwittingly revealed in Perry's book a couple of years back...hence why he got the ****. Recall at the end of season two; they race a supercharged old school jag against jet fighters on a carrier ship - Stig goes too far, plunging the jag into the ocean, leaving but his black glove floating on the surface.

Next season around, the Stig was wearing white... new uniform, new dude(s)...

Other speculation is that he is not an F1 driver: Recall season 8 with Jensen Button as their star. Clarkson mentions that formula 1 drivers always take the same line round whatever corner it was. The Stig did not, prompting Button to say "Well he can't be an F1 driver then, can he..."

I'm with Micky though, I don't want to know. Perhaps in many years to come, when the series has been put to bed, I'll be interested. In particular, if it is multiple drivers, I'd like to know which one set the record lap of 1:44.1...

[zeraph]

I don't want to know. But I did buy the DVD interactive game on the weekend and it kicks a**. Leroy has a point when it's been put to bed then I want to know who and however many stigs, and who set the record.

[Canyonero]

I bought a shirt that simply says, "I AM THE STIG."

[WingsOfPain]

Wonder if they'd do a DVD of the best of stig. Sure, it won't have that much dialog but...

For that matter, wonder if they'll do a DVD set of Top Gear!

[WingsOfPain]

Wonder if they'd do a DVD of the best of stig. Sure, it won't have that much dialog but...

For that matter, wonder if they'll do a DVD set of Top Gear!

[Hiro]

There are a good 4 or 5 Top Gear DVDs, but none of them are full seasons. One is a Best Of Season 1 and 2, the rest are themed ones like the Winter Olympics, Challenges etc.

[CAP]

Some say that he urinates high octane unleaded. All we know is, he is known as the Stig

[TRIPPER]

its ben collins :)

[MT]

its ben collins :)

Ben Collins must be pretty clever to be able to change his height/body size etc when he wants

[Steve]

again i can assure you it is Ben Collins.. one of them anyway

[Buddha]

I bought a shirt that simply says, "I AM THE STIG."

Do they do a shirt that says "I am the Stig's American Cousin"? I just think it would suit my figure better!