Car makers are no stranger to keeping secrets, as they strive to protect their latest creations from the prying eyes of the press.
And one of the motoring world's best kept secrets is the identity of The Stig; the permanently-helmeted driving machine that gives cars the gun around the Top Gear test track.
But while Jeremy Clarkson maintains that "all we know is, he's called The Stig," newspaper reports have revealed the star's true identity.
Rumours about the identity of the mysterious driver date back to the first two series, in which a black-suited Stig could be seen putting cars through their paces.
Shortly after the first Stig was revealed to be Perry McCarthy, he made his last, spectacular appearance on the flight deck of HMS Invincible.
And now his white-clad replacement has been unmasked as a Bristol-based stuntman and former racing driver.
While neither the driver himself nor the BBC have commented, The Times quotes a show-insider - in an article that reveals full details of the mystery driver.
"It's bloody annoying," the un-named source said.
"You wouldn't write a piece saying that Santa didn't exist."
