The History Channel’s “Top Gear” TV show filmed in downtown Gainesville on Tuesday morning, showcasing vintage muscle cars.
Tabitha Lentle, a co-executive producer with BBC Worldwide Productions, said Gainesville was chosen for the episode’s setting because the town has a “rich history with muscle cars and drag racing.”
The U.S. version of the show centers around the history of the automobile and follows three hosts on their journeys across the country in various types of cars.
A 1972 Dodge Charger, a 1968 Chevrolet Camaro and a 1967 Shelby Mustang Fastback were used for the Gainesville episode.
The production team was partly inspired to film in Gainesville because it’s the home to Gatornationals, an annual National Hot Rod Association drag racing event held every March at the Gainesville Raceway, Lentle said.
“We wanted to use a town that had a theme of Americana,” she said.
“Top Gear” hosts Tanner Foust, Rutledge Wood and Adam Ferrara were filmed downtown outside the Hippodrome State Theatre and on U.S. Highway 441 at Paynes Prairie.
Ciao Holtz, a 20-year-old student at University Air Center who is studying to be a pilot, said he found out about the show’s appearance from a friend and he went down to the Hippodrome to watch.
They didn’t let him get close while the show was being filmed, he said.
But Holtz said the cast was friendly and available for pictures with fans after the show was filmed.
Perry Ciarletta, a 24-year-old express technician at Gatorland Toyota, said he watched the hosts drive along Paynes Prairie. He said the production crew was careful to film without blocking traffic.
“You don’t really expect anything like that to happen in this town,” he said.
The episode is expected to air as part of season four later in the spring.
[A version of this story ran on page 5 on 3/12/2014 under the headline "Car show makes pit stop in Gainesville to film episode"]
