Was last night's episode of Top Gear the final ever? The web was awash with speculation following the show as viewers questioned whether the closing words from presenter Jeremy Clarkson held a hidden message hinting that the programme, beloved of 'petrol heads' everywhere, could be coming to an end.
The final scenes of episode seven in series 13 showed Clarkson taking the new V12 Aston Martin Vantage out for a spin.
As the car was filmed winding through country fields, Clarkson commented on how cars such as the Aston Martin may have had their day in a world where economic pressures and safety concerns are more of a focus than enjoyment and style. The episode closed with the presenter saying: "This feels like an ending."
Twitter was soon awash with fans wondering whether Clarkson was referring to the Aston Martin cars or to the series.
Some asked if the comment meant the episode was the last in the series while others commented that the ending was shot as though it was the final ever.
There seemed to be a consensus among tweeters that the ending to the show struck a sad note and was stranger than usual.
One blogger posted soon after last night's episode: "Did I just hear a eulogy for the programme that's built around the beauty of the car, a beauty that Jeremy's just said is itself coming to a forced and bitter end?"
The BBC denied that the series was finishing once and for all, saying that the broadcaster would have made a public statement in advance if a programme as popular as Top Gear was ending.
A spokeswoman insisted that Clarkson's closing remark referred to the car and not the show.
No stranger to controversy, Clarkson has become used to causing headaches for BBC executives.
He sparked controversy last month after making more offensive comments about Gordon Brown in front of Top Gear's studio audience.
The presenter, who previously had to apologise to the prime minister in February after calling him "a one-eyed Scottish idiot", was understood to have described Brown as a "cunt" in not-for-broadcast comments.
Two years ago, Clarkson also cast doubt on the future of Top Gear by using a column in the Sun declaring that the show would not return that summer.
"After last week's Top Gear, the TV announcer said it would be back in the summer. Can I just say, here and now, it won't be," he wrote.
