Top Gear's The Stig revealed as married man 'who drives boring car'

One of motor-racings most guarded secrets has been answered - Top Gear's The Stig has been unmasked as a married man in his 30s who lives in a £300,000 house with a boring £15,000 car.

Man behind the mask: The Stig is now known to be married and in his thirties, although the mysterious Top Gear character has not been named Photo: BBC / LEE BRIMBLE

Some say his tongue can strip the paint off a Porsche in 30 seconds, and that his first name really is 'The'.

Until now, all we knew was he was called The Stig.

But his secret identity appears now to have been leaked.

He is a married man, who lives in a comfortable £300,000 home and drives an unglamorous £15,000 car.

The racing star, who tests new cars and coaches celebrities in the Star in a Reasonably Price Car segment on the show featuring Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May has always kept his identity a closely-guarded secret.

The News Of The World discovered his true identity thanks to a leak in the BBC show.

Although not revealing his name, it gave some clues into the mysterious man's identity.

He found his first track outing when he was younger "terrifying" but this did not stop him from racing in Formula First, GT Racing and Stock Cars, while he almost made it to Formula One.

He is in his 30s, and earns around £150,000 a year combining his Top Gear job with some stunt and test driving.

A BBC source told the newspaper: "This is the best-kept secret in motor racing and we want to keep it that way.

"No one will ever officially confirm his identity."

It would appear the current version of The Stig has no intention of following in the footsteps of his predecessor Perry McCarthy.

McCarthy was The original Stig for 22 Top Gears but was "killed off" by being shot off the end of aircraft carrier HMS Invincible in a rocket-powered vehicle after revealing his secret.