Top Gear drives into Finland
Details
Editor
| 08 June 2023
Marking the eleventh global adaptation of the famous driving format, BBC Studios has licensed Top Gear to Nelonen channel and Ruutu streaming service to create a Finnish adaptation of the Emmy Award-winning and Guinness World Record-setting series.
Top Gear Finland12 8June2023
With a heritage dating back to 1977 in the UK – equating to 33 seasons with The Stig, Top Gear has a global following of 19.6 million fans on Facebook, and has been snapped up by over 150 countries worldwide to date.

The Finnish adaptation follows similar moves in South Korea, France and America and will be presented by comedian, musician and author Ismo Leikola, former elite Ice hockey winger Teemu Selänne, and actor Christoffer Strandberg.

Set to air in the spring of 2024, the programme will see Leikola, Selänne and Strandberg compete in various car-related challenges to determine who among them is the ultimate driver.

They will measure themselves against each other and their driving skills, car choices, and automotive knowledge, testing classic teenage cars, new city SUVs, flashy supercars, and even environmentally friendly options. The trio will vehicles to the test in the city, forests, highways and at sea.

The format’s famous Star in a Car segment will also be making its way through to this season. Giving celebrity guests the chance to drive a lap on the Top Gear test track, with the fastest lap and driver being announced at the end of the season.

A Finnish adaptation of Top Gear has been something that BBC Studios has wanted for a long time, said head of Nordic Jan Salling. “Finding it a good home at Nelonen is really exciting, we are confident that with the amazing talent attached and with the very safe production hands at Rabbit Films we have the best possible chance of ensuring this is a long running success,” he said.

Lasse Nikkari head of formats & branded entertainment at Nelonen added: “Nelonen is thrilled to announce the addition of Top Gear, the renowned BBC Studio's format, to our program slate. Finland, celebrated for its legendary WRC and F1 drivers, has eagerly awaited the arrival of Top Gear. With the production company Rabbit Films at the helm, we are confident this show will achieve great success in the age of digital transformation and sustain its success for years to come. Nelonen remains committed to delivering exceptional entertainment experiences to our audience. The addition of Top Gear represents a major milestone in our efforts to future-proof both our linear channel, Nelonen, and our streaming service, Ruutu”.