We were all shocked to see the end of the reasonably-priced car when in series 23 of Top Gear – the bloody awful one – they introduced a rallycross track and the change to a Mini rallycross car.

To some, the celebrity interview portion of Top Gear was the part that was most skippable, with viewers eager to resume the banter between Clarkson, Hammond and May. But what can’t be denied was the love for the reasonably-priced car that viewers developed over years of watching. Who else gets nostalgic when you see a blue Suzuki Liana on the road?

There were four reasonably-priced cars in all, these being the Suzuki Liana, Chevrolet Lacetti, Kia Cee apostrophe d, and Vauxhall Astra. While the first three had a lifespan of five to seven series, the Vauxhall Astra only lasted three, being ditched after the leaving of the trio from the BBC.

So what happened to the race track experienced hatchback?

In its racecar guise it was completely undriveable on the public road due to the air bags having to be deactivated because of the roll cage placement, so it was given back to Vauxhall where it was sold at a charity Auction held by Coys. Unfortunately, despite the fact that it had been driven by more than 20 ‘high profile’ celebrities like Nicolas Hoult and Lewis Hamilton, it was only sold for £6000. It only had 3000 miles on the clock, too.

The money raised at the auction went to BEN, a charity that helps people in the automotive industry who have come across hard times.

Who it was sold to is unknown, but they got a bargain! Although it wasn’t exactly up for sale as a car that had only had ‘one careful lady owner’. That was the problem I think.