Top Gear Season 40 Episode 1 Episode 1 ( Air Date 1998-09-10 ) Genre Documentary category. Overview "Jeremy Clarkson slips behind the wheel for the new 15-part run of the motoring magazine and road-tests the Ford Focus, while Tiff Needell sees how Aston Martin’s latest DB7 compares with a flying Jaguar. Plus a report from Quentin Willson on used cars imported from Japan.".