Forza 3 shifting into Top Gear

For serious car fanatics, Top Gear is almost like a religion. The popular BBC show and its hosts--Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, and James May--have a fanatical worldwide following due to their iconoclastic humor, attention to automotive detail, and at-times-unbelievable antics. Past shows have included such feats as shooting a Mini Cooper off of a ski jump with rockets, trying to boat across the English Channel in a modified truck, and racing several cargo trucks--while one was on fire.

Microsoft is apparently appreciative of Top Gear's following, as it today announced a long-term partnership with the British version of the show. (The American version of the show, which will premiere later this year on the History Channel, was not mentioned.) The show's first appearance will come with Forza Motorsport 3: Ultimate Collection, which launches in North America on October 26 and in Europe on October 29. The souped-up edition of the critically lauded racer includes all previous downloadable content for the game, which raises the car count to more than 500 and the track count to more than 100.

In terms of Top Gear, Forza Motorsport 3: Ultimate Collection will come with a code to download Stig's Garage Car Pack, named after the mysterious driver who tests cars on the show. The pack will include three exclusive cars--the Koenigsegg CCX, Lexus LFA, and Mercedes Benz SLS-AMG--and a Top Gear Xbox Live theme. It will also include a 90-minute video with footage from the show.

Though Stig's Garage Car Pack contains only a few items, it's just the start of the partnership. Microsoft promised that the Top Gear brand would be "fully integrated into future versions of Forza Motorsport products." The company did not say if that included the next installment in the Xbox 360-exclusive racing series, which will support the console's Kinect motion-sensing system.

For more on Forza Motorsport 3, check out GameSpot's full review.