Top Gear’s famous Vauxhall Astra test track car on sale for £8100

Vauxhall Astra used as reasonably-priced car on Top Gear for sale on eBay
Stars Will Smith, Ed Sheeran and Jimmy Carr all raced the 2013 red Astra
A bidding war among 11 people has so far raised the price of car to £8,100
The car is being sold to raise money for automotive industry charity BEN

Sam Tonkin For Mailonline

Published:
19:08 GMT, 21 December 2015

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Updated:
21:40 GMT, 21 December 2015

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It has been driven by stars such as Will Smith, Ed Sheeran and Jimmy Carr, but now Top Gear fans can have the reasonably-priced car all to themselves after it was put up for sale on eBay.

The 2013 red Vauxhall Astra used on the hit motoring show has so far sparked a bidding war between 11 people and is currently listed at a very reasonable £8,100 on the auction website.

With only 2,908 miles on the clock, it would make the 1.6-litre Tech Line model the ultimate Christmas present for Top Gear fans.

The 2013 red Vauxhall Astra used as the reasonably-priced car on Top Gear (pictured) has been put up for sale

Auctioned off: It has been driven by stars such as Will Smith, Ed Sheeran and Jimmy Carr, but now Top Gear fans can have the reasonably-priced car all to themselves after it was put up for sale on eBay (pictured)

The fastest celebrity to drive the Astra was Olly Murs, who completed a lap of the Top Gear track in one minute, 44.6 seconds.

The car is being sold to raise money for the automotive industry charity BEN. It features 17-inch alloy wheels and a digital radio system – but has also been fitted with racing seats and a roll cage.

Vauxhall said the roll-cage means that the airbags have been disabled, so any buyer would need to have them re-instated for legal road use. The five-door hatchback will be listed on eBay until December 27.

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David Main, chief executive of the BEN charity, said: ‘We are very grateful for this donation of a piece of motoring history.’

The emergence of the reasonably-priced Astra on eBay comes just a couple of weeks after a father spoke of his shock at seeing the faulty BMW he had bought being put through a ferocious test drive by Jeremy Clarkson on Top Gear.

Rob Willis, from Dartford, Kent, splashed £50,000 on the sky blue BMW M3 earlier this year but found it had a number of mechanical problems.

He later found the car had been driven around the Top Gear track before he bought it and believes Clarkson’s driving may have caused the faults.

Actor Will Smith, who appeared on the show with Margot Robbie (pictured), drove the reasonably-priced car

Pole position: The fastest celebrity to drive the Astra was Olly Murs (pictured), who completed a lap of the Top Gear track in one minute, 44.6 seconds. The five-door hatchback is being sold to raise money for charity

In action: Vauxhall said the roll-cage means that the airbags have been disabled, so any buyer would need to have them re-instated for legal road use. The 1.6-litre Tech Line model will be listed on eBay until December 27

Father-of-one Mr Willis, 27, said the expensive vehicle had brake and steering problems after he bought it from a local dealership.

He told MailOnline: ‘I bought the car three months ago, but four weeks after that was when I saw it on Top Gear.’

Watching an old episode of Top Gear, a show which has since left the BBC, he saw the car being skidded around the track as Clarkson praised it as ‘properly quick’.

During the test drive, Clarkson said of the car: ‘Well here it is slithering about on our track…. everything is absolutely sublime.

‘This car is utterly brilliant. It’s well made, it’s got seating for four it’s got a decent-sized boot.

‘In many ways this car is like the perfect dog, it’s loyal, it’s cute, it doesn’t chase sheep and yet, if a burglar comes, it has the power to rip his throat out. Look at me, I’m an attack dog now.

‘It is a fabulous wonderful car and, if you have £56,000, you should buy one.’

After Mr Willis complained about the car, he says the dealership gave him a replacement.