Car SOS
Car SOS is a British automotive entertainment television series that airs on National Geographic Channel as well as being repeated on Channel 4 and More4.[1][2] The series began in 2013, and is presented by Tim Shaw and Fuzz Townshend.[1]
| Car SOS | |
|---|---|
.png.webp) Official Logo | |
| Genre | |
| Directed by |
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| Presented by | |
| Starring |
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| Narrated by |
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| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language | English |
| No. of series | 8 |
| No. of episodes | 81 (including 1 special) (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producers |
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| Producer | Stephen Taylor Woodrow |
| Production locations | SOS Workshop Ltd in Oldbury, West Midlands, England |
| Editors |
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| Running time | 44 mins approx (not inc. advertisements) |
| Production companies | Renegade Pictures National Geographic Channels NGC UK Partnership |
| Distributor | NGC Network International |
| Release | |
| Original network | National Geographic Channel Channel 4/More4 (repeats) |
| Picture format | HDTV 1080i |
| Original release | 7 February 2013 – present |
| External links | |
| Car SOS at National Geographic UK | |
| Production website | |
Shaw and Townshend work closely with a specialist car restoration team helping to restore owners' classic cars from across the UK and Europe, often beginning in serious state of disrepair. The owner and their car, unbeknownst to them, are nominated by a relative or friend because of an inability to restore the vehicle themselves due to unforeseen medical or financial reasons. The owners are then surprised with their finished car, in a staged event usually set up by Shaw.
In a special series three episode, a 1962 Austin-Healey Sebring Sprite destined for the British Motor Museum was restored with the owner's knowledge, breaking the show's format due to the car's significance, having been driven by a racing team that included Steve McQueen, and Sir Stirling Moss, who appears in the episode.
Presenters
The series is presented by motor vehicle and engineering enthusiast Tim Shaw and musician and mechanic Fuzz Townshend.[1] Townshend leads a team of car restoration experts who mainly work off camera, though they do have occasional cameos, most notably "Workshop" Phil Palmer's appearances within skits or scripted light-hearted moments taking place within the workshop.
Format
Each episode begins with Shaw and Townshend picking up and reviewing the featured car. Shaw will discuss why the car is being restored with the nominee's relatives, while Townshend inspects the car's state, working out the amount of work needed. The car is then winched onto a trailer and taken to Townshend's workshop, where it is inspected further by all of the restoration team. As the restoration work begins, Shaw is given a list and travels the country to find the needed parts, often portrayed in a comedic, 'blagging' manner. Shaw and Townshend will occasionally break from the restoration, leaving it in the safe hands of the team to visit other restored models of the same car, test driving them and talking with other owners. Towards the end of the restoration, Shaw invites the nominee's family to discuss setting up a fake scenario or event in which they can return the car to the owner. The fake event is also usually presented in a comedic manner, with Shaw often in disguise before revealing himself and his intentions to the owner, who is then presented with their restored car.
A special aired as the third episode of the third series featuring Sir Stirling Moss. A 1962 Sebring Austin Healey Sprite, once driven at Sebring as part of a racing team featuring Steve McQueen and Sir Stirling Moss, was restored by the team and was placed in the Heritage Motor Centre (now named the British Motor Museum) once completed.[3] In the 1962 race, a sister car was driven by Moss to a class win, and second overall. That car had since been destroyed, leaving the team car, restored by the team, as the only Sebring Sprite left in the world.
Episodes
Eight series of Car SOS have aired as of May 2020, each containing 10 episodes.
| Series | Episodes | Originally aired | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First aired | Last aired | ||||
| 1 | 10 | 7 February 2013 | 11 April 2013 | ||
| 2 | 10 | 24 March 2014 | 19 May 2014 | ||
| 3 | 10 | 9 April 2015 | 16 June 2015 | ||
| 4 | 10 | 7 April 2016 | 9 June 2016 | ||
| 5 | 10 | 16 March 2017 | 18 May 2017 | ||
| 6 | 10 | 18 March 2018 | 10 May 2018 | ||
| 7 | 10 | 28 February 2019 | 2 May 2019 | ||
| S | 2 | 14 February 2019 | 21 February 2019 | ||
| 8 | 10 | 17 March 2020 | TBA | ||
Series 1 (2013)
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | "Cosworth in Crisis" | |
| TV presenter Tim Shaw and master mechanic Fuzz Townshend rescue a 1986 Ford Sierra RS Cosworth for Darren since The Sierra was neglected after a family tragedy. | |||
| 2 | 2 | "Beetle Mania" | |
| Shaw and Townshend attempt to renovate 'Boris the Blaide', a Volkswagen Type 1 Beetle. | |||
| 3 | 3 | "Phoenix Jeep" | |
| Shaw and Townshend renovate a US Army World War II Willys Jeep damaged in an arson. | |||
| 4 | 4 | "Fiat Fiasco" | |
| Shaw and Townshend help an injured man with his Fiat 850 Sport. | |||
| 5 | 5 | "Anglia Angels" | |
| Shaw and Townshend work with a family, all of whom have a Ford Anglia. | |||
| 6 | 6 | "The Rover's Return" | |
| Shaw and Townshend help an injured man with his 1972 Rover P6. | |||
| 7 | 7 | "Triumph of the Stag" | |
| Shaw and Townshend go Portsmouth to help an injured former Royal Navy diver's 1976 Triumph Stag. | |||
| 8 | 8 | "Austin Re-Powered" | |
| Shaw and Townshend go to Suffolk to secretly restore a 1928 Austin 12 Tourer. | |||
| 9 | 9 | "Zodiac Come Back" | |
| Shaw and Townshend restore a Ford Zodiac in Norfolk. | |||
| 10 | 10 | "Lotus Flowers" | |
| Shaw and Townshend restore a 1970 Lotus Elan in Warwickshire owned by an injured ex-racer. | |||
Series 2 (2014)
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | 1 | "Cortina Conundrum" | |
| Shaw and Townshend restore a Ford Cortina GT that is little more than a well-preserved body shell with a hole in the roof. | |||
| 12 | 2 | "MG Miracle" | |
| Shaw and Townshend go to Cheshire for a 1938 MG TA. | |||
| 13 | 3 | "A Porsche Puzzle" | |
| Shaw and Townshend restore a 1980s Porsche 911 from East Anglia that is rusting and collapsing in on itself. | |||
| 14 | 4 | "The Herald Angels" | |
| Shaw and Townshend go to Cornwall for a 1970 Triumph Herald. | |||
| 15 | 5 | "Land Rover Legend" | |
| Shaw and Townshend go to South Yorkshire for a Series 1 Land Rover that has not been driven in 16 years. | |||
| 16 | 6 | "Start the Dart" | |
| Shaw and Townshend go to Berkshire for a Daimler SP250 Dart which has been in a shed for over 10 years. | |||
| 17 | 7 | "Morris Traveller Mayday" | |
| Shaw and Townshend go to Leighton Buzzard in Bedfordshire to help finish restoring a 1968 Morris Traveller. | |||
| 18 | 8 | "Danish Dilemma" | |
| Shaw and Townshend go to Denmark to fix a 1968 Volvo Amazon, that's been in the same family for over 45 years. | |||
| 19 | 9 | "Escort RS in Distress" | |
| Shaw and Townshend travel to Dorset to restore a 1980s Ford Escort RS 1600i. | |||
| 20 | 10 | "Campervan Challenge" | |
| Shaw and Townshend go to Hartlepool to restore a 1971 classic VW T2 Type 2 camper van. | |||
Series 3 (2015)
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 21 | 1 | "E-Type Emergency" | |
| Shaw and Townshend restores an injured man's Jaguar E-Type. | |||
| 22 | 2 | "Awesome Audi" | |
| Shaw and Townshend restore a 1984 Audi UR Quattro in Brighton. | |||
| 23 | 3 | "Stirling Moss Sprite Special" | |
| Shaw and Townshend restore a historic Austin-Healey Sprite, which has been in a garage since 1968. Racer Sir Stirling Moss appears and drives the completed car. | |||
| 24 | 4 | "Morgan Mayhem" | |
| Shaw and Townshend go to Northumberland for a 1934 Morgan F4 three-wheeler, which has been in a shed for over 50 years. | |||
| 25 | 5 | "Skyline Sensation" | |
| In Hampshire, Shaw and Townshend convert a collision-damaged 1995 Nissan Skyline R33 GT-R that has been kept in a shed. | |||
| 26 | 6 | "Alfa Romeo Renaissance" | |
| Shaw and Townshend restore a 1963 Alfa Romeo Giulia Spider, a two-seater convertible that has been kept in a dusty barn in Essex. | |||
| 27 | 7 | "Tim's Golf GTI Obsession" | |
| Shaw and Townshend go to Hampshire to repair a 1982 VW Golf GTI Mk1 that has been kept in a garage since a road collision in 2001. | |||
| 28 | 8 | "Lancia Reborn" | |
| Shaw and Townshend try to restore a 1967 Lancia Flavia coupé, that has been kept for over 30 years in a Rochdale garage. | |||
| 29 | 9 | "Little Black Corvette" | |
| Shaw and Townshend restore 1974 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray in Essex. | |||
| 30 | 10 | "Vive La Citroën" | |
| Shaw and Townshend go Eastbourne in East Sussex for a 1954 Citroën Traction Avant belonging to former watchmaker and classic car lover. | |||
Series 4 (2016)
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Original air date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 31 | 1 | "Volvo P1800" | 7 April 2016 | |
| Peter's 1964 Volvo P1800 restored by Fuzz, Tim, and Sir Roger Moore. | ||||
| 32 | 2 | "AC Aceca" | 14 April 2016 | |
| Today Shaw and Townshend are off to Leeds to take on a little British sports car, the AC Aceca. | ||||
| 33 | 3 | "BMW 2002 Turbo" | 21 April 2016 | |
| A Car S.O.S. call comes in for a BMW 2002 Turbo. | ||||
| 34 | 4 | "Datsun 240Z" | 28 April 2016 | |
| Townshend and Shaw go to West Sussex to salvage a Datsun 240Z engine. | ||||
| 35 | 5 | "Range Rover Vogue SE" | 5 May 2016 | |
| Townshend and Shaw restore a 1991 Range Rover. | ||||
| 36 | 6 | "Mazda MX5" | 12 May 2016 | |
| Townshend and Shaw restore a sports car for a former ambulance driver in Plymouth, who was forced to abandon the project for health reasons. | ||||
| 37 | 7 | "Singer Le Mans" | 19 May 2016 | |
| Townshend and Shaw restore a two-seater Singer Le Mans sports car that has not been on the road for 17 years. | ||||
| 38 | 8 | "Vauxhall Astra GTE" | 26 May 2016 | |
| Townshend and Shaw restore a General Motors Vauxhall Astra GTE. | ||||
| 39 | 9 | "Mini Cooper S" | 2 June 2016 | |
| Townshend and Shaw go to Eastbourne to secretly restore a 1962 Mini Cooper S into a replica of the Monte Carlo-winning #37. | ||||
| 40 | 10 | "Shaw and Townshend's Greatest Hits" | 9 June 2016 | |
| Shaw and Townshend take a tour of the UK, to visit their favourite cars and owners from previous shows. Includes previously un-seen clips. | ||||
Series 5 (2017)
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Original air date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 41 | 1 | "Mercedes Pagoda" | 16 March 2017 | |
| Shaw and Townshend restore a 1965 Mercedes 230 SL "Pagoda". | ||||
| 42 | 2 | "Jaguar Mark 2" | 23 March 2017 | |
| Shaw and Townshend restore a classic 1962 Mark 2 Jaguar 2.4 litre. | ||||
| 43 | 3 | "Aston Martin DB6" | 30 March 2017 | |
| Shaw and Townshend secretly restore an Aston Martin DB6. | ||||
| 44 | 4 | "Fiat Dino" | 6 April 2017 | |
| Townshend and Shaw restore a Fiat Dino, the smallest car they ever worked on. | ||||
| 45 | 5 | "Renault 5 GT Turbo" | 13 April 2017 | |
| Tim and Fuzz Fix a 1988 Renault 5 GT Turbo For carpet supplier, Ben who had to abandon his project since he contracted cancer. Will they be able to fix it? | ||||
| 46 | 6 | "Fiat 500" | 20 April 2017 | |
| Restoring a Fiat 500 with terminal rust, Shaw and Townshend travel to Italy to pick up a better shell. | ||||
| 47 | 7 | "Sunbeam Alpine" | 27 April 2017 | |
| The Car SOS team restore a rusty, badly repaired 1960 Sunbeam Alpine. | ||||
| 48 | 8 | "Caterham 7" | 4 May 2017 | |
| Townshend and Shaw restore a former amateur racer's Caterham 7. | ||||
| 49 | 9 | "Austin Tilly Truck" | 11 May 2017 | |
| Townshend and Shaw restore a former soldier's army truck that has been used as a farm vehicle for 60 years. | ||||
| 50 | 10 | "Mazda RX-7" | 18 May 2017 | |
| Townshend and Shaw secretly restore a Mazda RX-7. | ||||
Series 6 (2018)
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Original air date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 51 | 1 | "MG MGA" | 8 March 2018 | |
| Shaw and Townshend are joined by James Nesbitt to restore a 1959 MGA roadster that has been kept in a damp barn for over 40 years. | ||||
| 52 | 2 | "Lancia Delta Integrale Evoluzione II" | 15 March 2018 | |
| Shaw and Townshend secretly fix up an Italian car enthusiast's rusty World Rally-winning Lancia Delta Integrale Evoluzione II. The car's owner died unexpectedly but the family requested they complete the restoration. | ||||
| 53 | 3 | "VW Karmann Ghia" | 22 March 2018 | |
| Shaw and Townshend restore a 1965 VW Karmann Ghia | ||||
| 54 | 4 | "Triumph GT6" | 29 March 2018 | |
| Shaw and Townshend secretly restore a 1971 Triumph GT6 for its injured owner. | ||||
| 55 | 5 | "Citroën DS" | 5 April 2018 | |
| Shaw and Townshend go to France to restore a Rogers Citroen DS. | ||||
| 56 | 6 | "Toyota FJ40 Land Cruiser" | 12 April 2018 | |
| Shaw and Townshend secretly restore Toyota FJ40 Land Cruiser for its injured owner. | ||||
| 57 | 7 | "Peugeot 205 GTI" | 19 April 2018 | |
| Shaw and Townshend are joined by racer Paddy Hopkirk to restore a Peugeot 205 GTI. | ||||
| 58 | 8 | "Subaru Impreza" | 26 April 2018 | |
| Shaw and Townshend secretly restore an injured man's Subaru Impreza. | ||||
| 59 | 9 | "Messerschmitt KR200" | 3 May 2018 | |
| Shaw and Townshend secretly restore a Messerschmitt KR200. | ||||
| 60 | 10 | "Ford Capri" | 10 May 2018 | |
| Shaw and Townshend secretly restore a 1974 Mk 1 Ford Capri. | ||||
7 Day Challenge Special (2019)
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Original air date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 61 | 1 | "1959 Land Rover Part 1" | 14 February 2019 | |
| Shaw and Townshend, joined by with Ross Kemp, restore a Series 2 Land Rover under a one week deadline in front of a live audience at the British Motor Museum. | ||||
| 62 | 2 | "1959 Land Rover Part 2" | 21 February 2019 | |
| Shaw and Townshend are joined by musician Rick Wakeman to restore 80-year-old's 1959 Land Rover. | ||||
Series 7 (2019)
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Original air date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 63 | 1 | "Triumph TR4" | 28 February 2019 | |
| Shaw and Townshend fix up a Triumph TR4, one of the biggest jobs in the show's history. | ||||
| 64 | 2 | "Toyota Celica" | 7 March 2019 | |
| Shaw and Townshend restore a 1972 Toyota Celica coupe. | ||||
| 65 | 3 | "Lotus Elise" | 11 April 2019 | |
| Shaw and Townshend secretly restore a Lotus Elise. | ||||
| 66 | 4 | "Ford Model A" | 18 April 2019 | |
| An injured motorcyclist's 1930 Ford Model A[4] | ||||
| 67 | 5 | "Peugeot 504" | 25 April 2019 | |
| Asked to secretly restore a 1971 Peugeot 504 convertible. | ||||
| 68 | 6 | "Talbot Sunbeam Lotus" | 2 May 2019 | |
| Shaw and Townshend go to Forfar in Scotland for a former fire fighter's rare Sunbeam Lotus. | ||||
| 69 | 7 | "Lamborghini Espada" | 11 April 2019 | |
| The show's first Lamborghini V12 supercar, a 1971 Espada. | ||||
| 70 | 8 | "Volkswagen Transporter (T4)" | 9 May 2019 | |
| Shaw and Townshend restore 1991 VW T4 Camper van. | ||||
| 71 | 9 | "Ford Escort" | 25 April 2019 | |
| Shaw and Townshend travel to Jersey for a 1972 Ford Escort Mexico. | ||||
| 72 | 10 | "Citroen 2CV" | 2 May 2019 | |
| Shaw and Townshend restore a 1983 Citroën 2CV. | ||||
Series 8 (2020)
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Original air date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 73 | 1 | "Porsche 356" | 12 March 2020 | |
| 74 | 2 | "Austin-Healey 3000" | 19 March 2020 | |
| 75 | 3 | "Lotus Esprit" | 26 March 2020 | |
| 76 | 4 | "Hillman Imp" | 5 April 2020 | |
| Shaw and Townshend restore a 1973 Hillman Imp. | ||||
| 77 | 5 | "Lancia Fulvia" | 12 April 2020 | |
| 78 | 6 | "Ferguson Tractor" | 19 April 2020 | |
| 79 | 7 | "Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IV" | 26 April 2020 | |
| 80 | 8 | "Austin 7 Chummy" | 3 May 2020 | |
| 81 | 9 | "Cannon Goldfinger" | 10 May 2020 | |
References
- "Car SOS at NatGeoTV". National Geographic Channel UK. NGC Europe Ltd. Retrieved 8 June 2015.
- "Car SOS on More4". Channel4.com. Retrieved 7 December 2016.
- "Visit the Austin-Healey Sebring Sprite at the Heritage Motor Centre, Gaydon". Car SOS on Facebook. Car SOS on Facebook. Retrieved 8 June 2015.
- "Car SOS - Episode 5 Series 7 cast list and preview". Radio Times. Immediate Media Company Limited. Retrieved 24 September 2019.