“Top Gear” Rolls into Hollywood Center Studios

Hollywood Center Studios recently made a cameo appearance in an episode of Top Gear on HISTORY, BBC Worldwide Productions’ whimsical look at American car culture. The studios’ Las Palmas entrance served as the backdrop for the opening scene of an episode on famous cars from movies and TV. Show hosts Adam Ferrara, Tanner Foust and Rutledge Wood motor up to the gate behind the wheels of legendary cars from Knight Rider, The Dukes of Hazard and Back to the Future.

In truth, they weren’t the actual cars featured in the shows, but rather knock offs assembled with love and tongue-in-cheek affection by Top Gear’s production staff.

“The DeLorean that Tanner drives was made out of a Nissan 200SX,” explains Tabitha Lentle, the show’s supervising producer. “We pulled off the doors and added piano hinges so they open like gull wings. To the back, we attached a lot of things that looked like they came from Home Depot.”

Lentle adds that they chose to shoot the opening at Hollywood Center Studios because of the episode’s show business theme. “We wanted a location that was iconic and located in the heart of Hollywood,” she says, “a location that immediately looks like a studio and has a history to it.”

The shoot took a half day and was carried out as traffic flow in and out of the studio gate continued as normal. “They were really good about having people go around us so that we could shoot,” recalls Lentle. “It looked great and turned out exactly as we planned.”
Top Gear USA is produced by BBC Worldwide Productions and airs on HISTORY.