Top Gear's Stig revealed as racing legend Bill Collins

The BBC's Top Gear is perhaps the most well-recognized and widely-watched motoring program on earth, and the series' dependence on a hired gun that plies the world's best supercars at the show's test track is equally well-known. That driver's identity has been a closely guarded secret of the show, however - until this week.

Previously we reported that the secretive 'tame racing driver' that dresses in a white racing suit and helmet for the program was racing driver and Bristol, UK, resident Ben Collins. However, in the latest twist, it has been revealed that Collins may not in fact be the mysterious ‘Stig’. To clear up the confusion, the BBC has tentatively revealed that the Stig is 80-year old Graham Hill, father to F1 World Champion Damon Hill and GP World Drivers Championship in 1962 and 1968. However, this is most likely a ruse to throw off readers of the earlier Collins reveal.

A previous Stig, now known as the Black Stig, preceded the new, white-clad version, but was killed off from the show upon the revelation of his identity as former British Formula 1 driver Perry McCarthy. It's not yet known if the current Stig will now face a similar fate, or what sort of Stig might replace him.