I'm curious to see what you all think were some of the most expensive Top Gear segments to film. I'm talking about in terms of production costs, things like insurance, booking and travel costs, etc. not necessarily the price tag of the vehicles involved.
The most recent episode got me thinking about this, most notably during the E-type anniversary segment. As we know, the BBC is a state funded agency, so the appearances made by the British military are probably just convenient excuses for a training exercise/PR stint, such as the Typhoon fighter that raced the Bugatti, the Apache helicopter that tried to catch the Lotus, the aircraft carrier early in the remade series, and in our most recent episode the Royal Navy jumpers and Multicam-clad Royal Marine commandos (?) who rappelled down the cliff to mount the flag. The band also looked like a state function, as they seemed kind of familiar (but I don't really pay attention to British governmental proceedings to say for sure).
So, even though the anniversary segment was much more showy and extravagant than the Marauder's South African segment, I think the latter was probably the more expensive of the two. Not only did they have to travel to South Africa, but they blew up a Hummer H3, demolished two cars and a few walls (knowing Joburg, not sure anyone cares about the walls), and may or may not have had to specify in their insurance contract that they were planning on trying to blow up a $500,000 truck. But, in the E-type segment, they may or may not have had to pay for the warplanes or the balloon.
Thoughts?