IT’S the high-octane show in which cars and their drivers are tested to the limit.

For almost 20 years Top Gear has been wowing TV audiences by staging stunts to see if high performance vehicles live up to the claims made by their manufacturers.

The award-winning BBC show often travels the world as part of its quest to see what the featured cars are capable of doing.

Daily Echo:

But Chris Harris, one of the three presenters, found himself closer to home after the producers decided to visit the New Forest.

The sequence will be screened next year and the details are being kept under wraps for now.

However, the Daily Echo understands that Top Gear filmed Porsche’s new contribution to the electric car market - the Taycan.

Chris, 44, was joined by the show’s anonymous test driver, The Stig, who got behind the wheel of Porsche’s first electric car - a 1898 Edgar Lohner P1.

Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service was involved in the filming near Brockenhurst and tested the Taycan’s pioneering 800-volt recharge technology.

Daily Echo:

Alex Renton, Top Gear’s executive producer said: “The New Forest provided a stunning backdrop for this sequence, which promises to be a uniquely Top Gear take on a new car review.

“We’re very grateful for support from Forestry England, the local authorities and members of the public we encountered along the way.”

One person who saw the filming claimed it posed a danger to people and animals.

But a BBC spokesman said: “Top Gear strictly adhered to all the rules set by Forestry England and neither the presenters nor the production cars exceeded the area’s speed limits.

“This segment was designed to be shot at slower speeds - in contrast to the Top Gear Test Track where viewers will see the dynamic driving.”

Renowned for its humourous and sometimes controversial style of presentation, Top Gear was created by Jeremy Clarkson and Andy Wilman and was first screened in 2002.

Clarkson's contract with the BBC was terminated in 2015.