In a Weird World of Wheels special, Vijay Pattni looks at the, erm, Weird World of Top Gear.

Remember Top Gear back in the day?

You know, the half-hour slot with Noel Edmonds and, someone-or-other, reviewing cars and talking about road safety? It had some funny theme tune too, and kicked off in Birmingham.

Yeah, we don’t remember it either. But it is important to remember your roots – and one former presenter is remembering hers this week.

Top Bird

Original Top Gear host Angela Rippon was this week quoted in a national newspaper as saying she should become one of the new presenters of the nation’s favourite motoring programme.

Rippon, who fronted the show in 1977, thinks Top Gear needs to evolve and “embrace the idea of a regular female presenter”.

But she’s against the idea of a “token dolly bird” to level up the on-screen gender balance.

“I drive cars and I know about cars”, pines the former presenter, “though I’m not sure the guys would welcome an old bird like me bringing them down a peg or two.

“But if the call comes, I’ve got my driving gloves and goggles at the ready.”

Could Clarkson and co be joined by a no-nonsense blast from the past?

This...is the BEST Top Gear image gallery in the universe. Click the image below to go back in time...

Just say Le-no

However much Angela Rippon wants to be a part of the new show – and we don’t think she stands much of a chance – one American famously backed away from the show…to save it.

One of the world’s biggest petrolheads and custodian of a multi-million pound car garage did NOT want to be a part of the American version of Top Gear – Mr Jay Leno.

Talk show host and part-time ‘gear’ head, Leno was offered the chance to host the American version of Top Gear in its early negotiations.

Writing for The Times, Leno said “Jeremy and the guys are extremely talented, but I think it would be impossible to recreate or live up to the standards of the British show.

“Another problem for Top Gear in America is the biting humour and criticisms of the cars. My great fear in America is that, for instance, if Kia was our sponsor this week, we’d have to say the car was fantastic. Sponsors would be unlikely to embrace any criticism.”

Top Gear-ski

One country very much willing to embrace the format however, is Russia.

Last October the BBC struck a deal to show a local version of Top Gear in Russia, and episode one aired in February this year.

The new presenters - Nikolai Fomenko (race car driver), Mikhail Petrovsky (actor), Oskar Kuchera (actor) and a ‘local’ Stig – have mirrored Clarkson and co with reviews, challenges, the cool wall and the power-lap board.

So, far they’ve tried to find used cars for around 400 quid (20,000 roubles), raced a Boxster against a powerboat, tested who could make the most money from being a cabbie and tried to drown a GAZ-66 Russian military truck.