Series Eighteen starts airing on 29 January 2012 with seven episodes (not including the India Special),[1] following on from the 2011 Christmas special which aired on 28 December 2011.[2] In the special they take a route across India, the first of the many countries Top Gear plans to visit over the course of the new series, according to Jeremy Clarkson. Shooting in India began on 2 October, with the first leg of the shooting beginning in suburbs of Mumbai.[3][4] The show was also seen in Lecce, Italy with a Noble M600, McLaren MP4-12C and a Lamborghini Aventador.[5] Hammond announced during the Top Gear Live shows in Birmingham, that additional recordings for the new series had been done in the USA.