Top Gear is the name of the tv-show about cars and other vehicles, which was first released in 2002 in the United Kingdom. Today it is one of the world’s most famous and successful series in the motor vehicle segment, which has released more than 200 episodes.
Meaning and history
Based on the motor vehicle tv-series from the 1970s, Top Hear also uses its logo as an inspiration. The relaunched version of the world’s famous project adopted the rounded gear from the original logo as the main graphical element, but fully redrew it and switched the color palette.
1977 — 1983
1983 — 1985
1986 — 1987
1987 — 1993
1994 — 2001
2002 — Today
Actually, there are two main logos in use by the tv-show today. One of them is a bold black logotype, designed in 2002. The inscription with “T” and “G” capitalized is executed in a solid typeface, which is very similar to Neue Helvetica Extra Black Oblique, which is pretty simple, yet looks powerful and masculine despite being italicized.
2002 — 2013
In 2002 the second version of the logo was designed. It was the same style as the wordmark, but in white color, placed over a three-dimensional blue gear. The emblem was located behind the first part of the inscription, “Top”, and featured a gradient blue and metallic gray shades. The wordmark has a very delicate and light gray shadow.
2013 — 2017
In 2013 the color of the gear was elevated to a brighter and more intense shade of blue, which was now closer to turquoise. The shadow of the wordmark became larger and the “BBC” logo appeared above the main lettering.
2017 — 2018
For one year, from 2017 until 2018, the tv-show uses a logo without a circular gear. It was a pretty short experiment, where the lettering was made three-dimensional and used gradient gray color, looking like a glossy car badge. The “BBC” logo above it was executed in the same color palette.
2018 — Today
The gear comes back to the TopGear logo in 2018 and looks like it is there to stay. Redrawn in a more geometric and strong way, it now features a dark turquoise color with gradient shades and thinner contours. The inscription has a light silver tone, which looks like a matte metal badge, and the “BBC” above it is executed in black and gray, where black letters are placed on silver squares.