Wednesday, December 23, 2015

Charity Selling the Top Gear “Reasonably Priced Car” on eBay

BOLD RIDE

Copyright © 2015 Bold Ride LLC

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A lot has happened over the past year regarding the BBC’s automotive juggernaut, Top Gear. Its trio of hosts has changed, its format too, allegedly, and now when it returns to TV screens there will be one less familiar face—the familiar “reasonably priced car.” 
 
Used to gauge the driving skills of the program’s celebrity guests, the Top Gear reasonably priced car has remained a Vauxhall Astra hatchback since 2013 and the beginning of series 20. Now, that car is being auctioned off on eBay by Vauxhall Motors with all proceeds benefitting UK charity BEN, a group supporting those in the automotive sector in times of need and illness.

At the time of writing, bidding on the Vauxhall, which will sell at no reserve, has risen to over £16,000 (or the equivalent of about $24,000) with more than three days left before the close of the auction.

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Over the years the 2013 Vauxhall Astra Tech Line in “Power Red” has accumulated just 2,908 miles, though all of them are said to have been earned on the Top Gear test track with celebrities at the wheel—each making use of its petite 115-horsepower engine.

At the top of the current lap time leaderboard sits singer Olly Murs, Mad Max and X-Men star Nicholas Hoult, and Breaking Bad superstar Aaron Paul, followed by such celebs as Brian Johnson of AC/DC, Hugh Jackman, Will Smith, and Benedict Cumberbatch.

Much of the original Vauxhall is still intact, from the Astra’s satellite navigation system to its 17-inch alloy wheels, however the hatchback has received racy Corbeau seats, safety harnesses, and a full roll cage.

 Vauxhall warns that in its current state (with airbags disabled) the car isn’t road-legal in the UK, and likely much less in the U.S. where it would face tight vehicle importation laws outside of the “show and display” clause.

That said, expect one lucky Top Gear fan to take this rare Vauxhall home when the charity auction concludes on December 27.





























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