BBC Top Gear – First Issue Report

Today the new title from Redwood Magazines is launched, BBC Top Gear, the motoring title to accompany the series. The glossy 250 page magazine has a cover price of £2.40.

Top Gear launches three weeks after EMAP’s weekly title Carweek,but has an altogether classier feel. This month’s edition carries a free poster and car sticker.

Presenters from the Top Gear series will be regular contributors to the magazine. The welcome from editor Kevin Blick claims that the magazine will be unique in that it will feature every range of car, the cheap Ladas as well as expensive sports cars. To illustrate the point, the front cover is a photograph of every car available in Britain.

The editorial contains fairly long and detailed features and reports on subjects such as the latest Mercedes, a feature on car crime, a test to decide the best small car around, and electric cars in the future.

Top Gear does have a section on buying cars as do other titles in the motoring section, but Top Gear has deliberately broken away from the traditional format of classified lists, instead their resident expert gives a selection ofthe best used cars in his opinion in the market. There are no trade and retail prices quoted but instead the price given is what could be expected from a privately advertised sale. The last 100 pages are taken up with the second hand buying section, as well as details on new cars.

30% of Top Gear is given over to advertising, with the majority of ads from car manufacturers, such as Ford, Fiat, Audi and BMW.

Redwood Publishing 071 331 8000