Top Gear: Polar Special is a full-length, special edition episode of BBC motoring programme Top Gear. It was first broadcast on 25 July 2007 on BBC Two, with an edited version repeated on UKTV channel Dave and BBC Canada. It was the first episode of Top Gear to be broadcast in high definition. In the episode, Jeremy Clarkson and James May attempted to be the first people to reach the North Pole (the 1996 location) in a motor vehicle. Meanwhile, Richard Hammond raced against them with a dog sled, the traditional means of transport around the Arctic. The idea for the special was originally proposed by the BBC to coincide with the Polar Challenge race, an annual event where competitors race to the 1996 location of the magnetic north pole by trekking and cross-country skiing.