Top Gear Live 2011 is drawing near…

Deep in a top secret facility somewhere suitably isolated, our increasingly deadline-fixated boffins behind Top Gear Live are currently making some of the most unlikely machines go ka-boom, bang, tweet and kapow. Mainly ka-boom, we imagine.

Yes, Top Gear Live's UK dates are almost upon us. If you haven't been keeping up, you won't know that this year's shows are bigger and better than ever: we've got our very own indoor track designed by Group Lotus Motorsport, the usual live antics from the three presenters, a recreation of our famously shambolic TV studio, power laps from the likes of Tiff Needell and Sabine Schmitz, and, of course, whatever unlikely contraptions said boffins come up with.

The Stig got so excited, we even managed to lure him to a London warehouse a few weeks back to film the TV ad you see mere inches below on this page.

We've got some great pictures of the day we filmed right here, and if you can name all the vehicles involved in the day's shoot list them in the handy box below. We'll be impressed.

But before that, on with the show:

If you want even more Top Gear Live, there are a series of excellent podcasts from the production team right here.

Here's the key info once again. Dates confirmed for the UK are:

11-13 November 2011, Birmingham NEC

24-27 November 2011, ExCeL London

And you can buy your tickets right here. See you there...