Top Gear Data Visualization
project background
Top Gear was a very popular U.K. automotive show that features 3 hosts with various degree of opinions and feature segments that include car reviews. Using Top Gear’s test track on an abandoned airfield, some of the world’s most powerful supercars and non-supercars get put through the ringer by an anonymous test driver (aka “The Stig”). By using the same driver and the same track for each car test, a baseline comparison can be done for each car. For car people, it’s all about knowing which car is the best (aka the fastest) and Top Gear provides that knowledge by posting lap times for each car tested.
During an active car argument at the office, the realization of not knowing a specific lap time presented itself. How can we compare previous lap times from past shows quickly in order to win the argument? Answer: We need to make a Top Gear Infograpic. So we did.
Infographic Release
august 2012
top gear reached out to get rights to publish our infographic in their monthly magazine
interactive visualization
Because the Top Gear Test Track data was so comprehensive, a static infographic didn’t make too much sense as it was quite difficult to interpret. We knew this from the beginning and wanted to get a static version out there to gauge interest. Thanks to the success of that static version, I had the go-ahead to invest time in an interactive version!
This was particularly challenging as I am definitely no developer.