Timothy Richard "Tiff" Needell (born 29 October 1951) is a British racing driver and television presenter.

Needell attended Ottershaw School followed by City University, London where he achieved an Honours Degree in Civil Engineering.

Needell's Formula Ford period culminated in his acquiring a Crosslé 25F with which he won the Kent Messenger FF Championship after competing for only half of the remaining season.

This success landed him a partly paid drive in the Formula Ford 2000 Championship in a Hawke chassis provided by McKinstry Racing.

Needell made his first appearance at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1981 driving an Ibec-Hesketh 308LM alongside Tony Trimmer.

That same year, he was to be part of Lister's assault on Le Mans, but the car failed scrutineering and thus didn't qualify.

[2] Needell is a television presenter and motoring journalist and co-hosted the original run of the BBC TV series Top Gear starting in 1987.

He was one of several people suspected of portraying the elusive masked racing driver The Stig on the current format of Top Gear.

[4][5] The true identity of The Stig was eventually revealed as being Ben Collins late in production, necessitating Needell's return to Top Gear after a nine-year absence to train director Danny Boyle for his lap in the "Star In A Reasonably Priced Car" segment.

On 22 September 2013, Needell co-starred in Tommy Kendall's Fox Sports 1 show, Driven - A Race Without Boundaries.

Notable reviews include the world's first Tesla race car, together with an ongoing series of Tiff Talks, where regular motoring news is discussed.

He was the launching announcer for the high speed Rita roller coaster at Alton Towers, as well as narrating several Discovery Channel documentaries.

[12] Thruxton Circuit has an exclusive deal which enables customers to pay £175 for three laps of fast-paced driving and drifting with Needell.

Working with Greenlight TV and Powerboat GP, Needell regularly commentates, casts voice-overs and interviews drivers.

His latest appearance during the world championship race in Nottingham on 1 September 2013 saw the climatic result of the Powerboat F2 Series come to a thrilling end.