It's an epic age-old rivalry: Britain versus Germany - but this time it's serious. Germany's equivalent of Top Gear - D Motor - is up against dear old Blighty's magnificent original in a series of challenges. Battle commences in Belgium.

A new Ford Mondeo or a used luxury car of yesteryear? Jeremy and James demonstrate which is the wisest choice when they compare their own luxury cars: a Mercedes 600 Grosse and a Rolls-Royce Corniche Coupe respectively - bought for the price of the standard family Ford.

The latest of Top Gear's epic races takes place in Japan. Jeremy is driving the Nissan GT-R, while James and Richard travel on Japan's famous Shinkansen, or Bullet train. On the Top Gear track, the Alfa Romeo 8C is driven by Jeremy and the Stig.

Are you a 'proper petrolhead'? The gospel according to Clarkson says you are not if you haven't owned an Alfa Romeo. So this week the lads are each given £1,000 to buy an Alfa Romeo, which will then be put through a series of challenges.

In the last series, Jeremy wanted to marry the Lamborghini Gallardo Superleggera. In this episode, he falls in love with the Mercedes CLK Black. Richard races the Audi RS6 Avant against skiers in the Alps and Top Gear Stuntman attempts to recreate a famous stunt from a James Bond film in a MG Maestro. On the track, the Mitsubishi Evo X and Subaru Impreza STi go head-to-head.

Top Gear returns and already the Police are involved. The boys are each given £1,000 to buy a car, which they must then convert for use as a police car. Unlike a real police car, there won't be several hundred metres of forms to fill in if they get a bit dented and they most likely will get dented.