Top Gear is coming to Belfast — to do an Italian Job in the city’s scrubbed-up sewers.

The show’s presenters, Jeremy Clarkson, James May and Richard Hammond and possibly their tame racing driver The Stig are expected to film their latest stunt in the city over the next few weeks.

It will be an homage to cult 1969 movie The Italian Job, in which Charlie Croker — played by Michael Caine — hatches a plan to steal million of dollars in gold from Turin, rather kitschly making a getaway in Mini Coopers.

Previously, the intrepid Top Gear trio have raced across the Channel and explored America’s Deep South — but their Belfast sewer adventure will be their first underground shoot.

Jason Barlow from Top Gear magazine said: “Basically what they want to try and do is emulate or recreate that famous scene in the Italian Job, which is just brilliant, where the Minis are escaping from the heist in Turin and they end up doing a loop-the-loop in the sewers.”

Northern Ireland Water approached the top-rated BBC2 show and asked whether it would be interesting in filming in the sewers, which are being updated in a multi-million pound project.

A spokeswoman for NI Water said: “NI Water can confirm it is presently in negotiation with the Top Gear production team about the possibility of using the NI Water Belfast Sewers Project for one of their programmes.

"NI Water enters into negotiations with many organisations and specialist journals and magazines in order to promote the £100m Belfast Sewers Project, one of the biggest civil engineering projects in the UK.”

Work to update the city’s antiquated sewerage system began in 2005 in a project costing £120m.

The Italian Job (Turin Car Chase) Original Music by Quincy Jones - Click here for the most popular videos

The Italian Job was remade starring Mark Wahlberg in Caine’s role in 2003. But the film received a lukewarm reception.

In the 2009 Top Gear version, few would bet against Clarkson delivering the film's most famous line: "You were only supposed to blow the bloody doors off!"

And May would seem the likely candidate for "Hang on a minute lads, I've got a great idea..."