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Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Top Gear's The Stig Identity Revealed

Today, we can't help but feel like we've asked a question we didn't really want to know the answer to. In car enthusiast culture, one of the oft-speculated wonders of the world was the true identity of the Top Gear test driver clad in white helmet and racing suit - and known only as The Stig. Today, U.K.-based Telegraph reports that it knows the mysterious Stig's identity after the man beneath the mask (er, helmet) revealed his job title to the owner of a local art gallery.

Ben Collins told gallery staff that he was The Stig while inquiring about having a print produced featuring The Stig doing what he does best. Collins, a former Le Mans, GT, NASCAR, and Formula 3 race driver, raised suspicions previously when a hired construction worker found a white driving suit and gloves in a display case in Collins' home. Fans of the Top Gear show had also previously suspected Collins of being The Stig after comparing his height and distinctive Bristol, U.K. accent to a rare video of the uniformed Stig talking.

Known more specifically among Top Gear fans as "The White Stig" due to his all-white attire, Collins replaced the previous Stig, Perry McCarthy (who in contrast wore all black), after McCarthy was fired for revealing his identity in a book and subsequently "killed off" on the show. As a Top Gear spokesman has said, "We never comment on speculation as to who or what The Stig is."

The Stig isn't the only role Collins has played in front of a camera. In addition to performing stunts on Top Gear as himself, he was also actor Daniel Craig's driving double for the latest James Bond film, "Quantum of Solace." As such, Collins was responsible for piloting Bond's Aston Martin DBS through some of the most harrowing stunts filmed during the action flick.

Should the Telegraph's report be accurate, we'd be a little concerned for Collins' future at Top Gear, given the demise of The Black Stig. What are your thoughts on the matter? Is Collins actually The Stig? If so, are you disappointed that you now know his identity? And should he be replaced with a new, more mysterious Stig? Let us know in the comments section below!

Source: Telegraph

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