There are neat photos – old and new, sculptures made out of car parts and paintings made using remote control cars. There are design drawings for cars up as well as some actual cars in the gallery including an F1 car covered in UV Paint to illustrate the air flow on race cars and loads more items.

Some of the items mock  high concept “Modern Art” or the presenters or the show. It is a good mix of items and a fun way to spend an hour. It’s a shame there isn’t a program for this exhibition : )

If you do go be aware that mima has a ground floor gallery, go up two flights for another gallery and then up one more flight for a peak into the mind of the Stig.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
Missing that last 1/2 a star because of the noise accompanying what’s in the mind of the Stig.

Top Gear, the BBC and Middlesbrough Council and mima have been working on this for a while – apparently the footage they filmed in Middlesbrough will air on December 20 in this new Top Gear season according to the Middlesbrough Football Club website. The presenters were around this past Saturday and Sunday – 7,000 tickets were snapped up in less than a day and an additional few thousand were given away by the presenters in Riverside Stadium – Middlesbrough’s Football Ground.

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Translation for my American friends:

Top Gear is a funny series about cars on the BBC with 3 presenters Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May (who is also doing an awesome series about toys at the moment). It is also on BBC America I believe.

mima is the Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art , Middlesbrough is where I work – it is in the north east of England in Tees Valley. It is a half hour from Durham-Tees Valley airport, two hours by train from Newcastle. It is also about to be the latest home of a Big Wheel in centre square, if you go to mima you can go see it being constructed.