Some Say This One Can Actually Be Beaten – Top Gear Releases The Stig’s Digital Cousin

BBC Worldwide and Xbox collaborate to produce a Digital Cousin for The Stig, making his debut in Forza Motorsport 5 for the new Xbox One on November 22nd.

Posted by Staff
LONDON, 11th October, 2013 – Racing fans will soon be donning their virtual crash helmets in anticipation of the imminent release of “Forza Motorsport 5” where they will have the first opportunity ever to try and beat the BBC motoring entertainment TV show’s white-suited test driver The Stig – albeit his Digital Cousin.

In an exclusive new video released today by BBC Worldwide, the renowned racing driver’s digital counterpart can be seen clocking up some perfect lap times around a test track, while the Xbox One Racing Team V8 Supercar crew are unawares. Unlike the real-life Stig however, it’s rumoured that for the very first time ever this will be a more fallible Stig - and one that can be beaten - but only if you’re fast. Players will be able to test themselves against him in “Forza Motorsport 5”, coming exclusively to Xbox One on 22nd November.

The video launches ahead of the annual Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 car race taking place this Sunday at the Mount Panorama Circuit in Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia. The car featured in the video being driven by The Stig’s Digital Cousin is the Holden Xbox One Racing Team car which will be driven by Britain’s Andy Prilaux, three-time WTCC winner and Bathurst veteran, and Sweden’s Mattias Ekstrom in this weekend’s race.

Duncan Gray, Top Gear’s Commercial Director at BBC Worldwide says: “Trying to beat The Stig on track has long been the petrol-fuelled dreams of Top Gear fans everywhere and whilst Jeremy and the team did not want to frustrate or embarrass gamers by putting forward the real Stig, they did help us track down a potentially more fallible relative of their tame racing driver.”

Dan Greenawalt, creative director on “Forza Motorsport 5”, said “The partnership between Forza Motorsport and Top Gear has featured many highlights over the years. Including The Stig’s digital cousin in the game is a natural extension of that creative partnership. Now, on top of racing against the best virtual drivers in the world online or against brand new cloud-powered Drivatar opponents in career mode, players can tackle the digital cousin of one of the world’s most celebrated racing icons.

In “Forza Motorsport 5”, players will be able to experience Top Gear in numerous ways throughout the game. Players will be able to race the Top Gear test track – every corner from Hammerhead to Gambon meticulously recreated with unprecedented accuracy. An all-new Career Mode will feature events and opponents that are true to each car’s automotive heritage. “Forza Motorsport 5” career events are organized by car genre – including vintage cars, sports compacts, grand touring, exotics and more. Jeremy, James, and Richard will be on hand, providing their unique perspective through voiceovers on the collection of cars featured in the career mode events.

The video is available to view on YouTube or via TopGear.com

-ENDS-

NOTES TO EDITORS
Where Dreams Are Driven: “Forza Motorsport 5” is available for pre-order now at participating retailers and will be released November 22nd, exclusively for Xbox One. Visit http://www.forzamotorsport.net/ for more information.

Assets
Assets for “Forza Motorsport 5” are available on Xbox Wire: http://news.xbox.com/media/?path=xbox-one-a-new-generation-revealed/games/forza-motorsport-5

You can follow us on Twitter at @XboxUK, on Facebook at facebook.com/xboxuk and on YouTube at youtube.com/xboxuk

For Xbox media enquiries, please contact:
Maxine Rushworth / 020 3047 4047 / maxine_rushworth@jcpr.com

For Top Gear media enquiries, please contact:
Philip Fleming, Head of Communications, Brands, Content and Digital, BBC Worldwide / 07824 622 077 / philip.fleming@bbc.com

About Turn 10 Studios
“Forza Motorsport 5” is published by Microsoft Studios in conjunction with Turn 10 Studios, the creators of the “Forza Motorsport” franchise, which is recognized by Metacritic as the highest rated racing series of the past ten years. In 2011, Turn 10 Studios released “Forza Motorsport 4,” the year’s most widely acclaimed racing game that was recognized as “Racing Game of the Year” by the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences.

About Xbox
Xbox is Microsoft’s premier entertainment brand for the TV, phone, PC and tablet. In living rooms or on the go, Xbox is home to the best and broadest games, as well as one of the world’s largest libraries of movies, TV, music and sports. Your favorite games, TV and entertainment come to life in new ways through the power of Kinect, Xbox SmartGlass and Xbox Live, the world’s premier social entertainment network. More information about Xbox can be found online at www.xbox.com

About BBC Worldwide Ltd. BBC Worldwide Limited is the main commercial arm and a wholly owned subsidiary of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). BBC Worldwide exists to support the BBC public service mission and to maximise profits on its behalf. It does this through investing in, commercialising and showcasing content from the BBC around the world, in a way that is consistent with BBC standards and values. The business also builds the reach and reputation of the BBC brand overseas and champions British creativity.

In 2012/13, BBC Worldwide generated headline profits of £156m and headline sales of £1,116m and returned £156m to the BBC. For more detailed performance information please see our Annual Review website: http://www.bbcworldwide.com/annualreview

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