Some say that he has never heard of 'The Knowledge' and that he thinks Piccadilly Circus is something to do with the Barnum Brothers, but all we know is he is called The Stig. As part of the build up to the Top Gear Live 2011 shows the tame racing driver has been taking paying customers for a spin in his Mitsubishi Evo 8 MR based taxi cab with disc jockey, TV presenter and flame haired lothario, Chris Evans, as his first punter.

The Top Gear Live 2011 show takes place in the NEC Birmingham from 11 - 13 November before moving on to the ExCeL in London on 24 - 27 November and Evans was on hand to announce his appearance at the show on the 24th where he will take part in a live rendition of Star in a Reasonably Priced Car.

The show, which is being billed as 'The Ultimate Top Gear Experience', is set to feature highlights from the TV show including Stig Power Laps, the Top Gear Stunt Team, mouth-watering head-to-heads and supercar parades as well as all the high octane tomfoolery you would expect from Messrs Clarkson, Hammond and May.

It is unclear whether The Stig was unhappy with Chris Evans stealing his limelight or if Evans was a bad tipper but the scheduled tour of the venue in the Stigcab turned into something of a joyride with the white suited one launching off service ramps, drifting through big concrete pillars in ExCeL's underground car park and generally making his rear passenger feel a bit uncomfortable. Evans was decidedly 'unavailable' for comment afterwards while The Stig was his usual uncommunicative self. I guess we will just have to wait until the Top Gear Live 2011 shows begin to find out!

Paul Healy - 23 Sep 2011