Today marks the first day of a contract to bring back several of our favorite automotive hosts of all time. I’ll reiterate on this once more, take gearheads, let their chemistry shine through, throw in cars, and you have a show for everyone. Not only will the automotive enthusiasts get their fix, but your significant others and kids will enjoy the hilarious banter of these three Englishmen as they tackle objectives to bring relevant and not so relevant tests to completion in various cars from general commuters to hypercars.
First, a little background. The trio started their dominance on the BBC network under the show “Top Gear” in 2002 and they remained at the helm until their 22nd season where the season was cut short due to a dispute between Clarkson and the producers of the show. All three of them banded together, left the BBC, and formed a a production company called W. Chump & Sons with their friend and peer Andy Wilman. Andy Wilman was one of the primary producers on Top Gear. With the help of Jeff Bezos the CEO of Amazon, they signed a contract for 36 episodes over the period of three years. Now hosted in the US with a huge budget and a massive cult following, The Grand Tour is slated for huge success.
The show starts with radio snippets over British radio of Clarksons’ demise where he leaves the UK and arrives in Los Angeles with the keys to a wonderfully blue American Ford Mustang and as the revs climb red and white Mustangs of the same year appear from behind piloted by Hammond and May to launch us into the next generation of these 3 hooligans. To start off this new show and to prove the world they mean business they pit 3 hypercars against each other. The Porsche 918 Spyder, McLaren P1, and Ferrari La Ferrari and it’s at this time you should be as quiet as possible and turn the speakers up as you hear the sounds of English, Italian, and German refinement roar around the track in Portugal. They then proceed to run a battery of tests including the comical electric only drag race which by the way is the quietest drag race EVER. Along the show you’ll find the reintroduction their own course again, team racing driver, focused tests, celebrity competitions, silly shenanigans, tire screeching, petrol burning, and sideways cornering.
So if you’re not an Amazon Prime subscriber now is a great time to signup, remember there are way more things you get with a Prime subscription, but right now The Grand Tour is one of the best perks for sure! So signup, tune in, and enjoy the charming, hilarious, and fun-loving charisma of Clarkson, Hammond, and May as they start their journey with their new show The Grand Tour. Amazon has chosen to stream this show in 200 countries giving it global reach! Grab some popcorn, sit back, and laugh along with us as we enjoy the adventures of this trio once more!
The first episode takes place in the desert here in the US and sticks loosely to the Top Gear format we are all familiar with, but it shows them trying to figure out how to deal with some of the segments for this new show which is great because the formula worked well. The production values are excellent, the banter is comical, and they seem to carryover the same lack of filtration thanks to internet streaming leniency versus broadcast regulations. My only real complaint with the first episode is their “Stig” like replacement called “The American” who only loves things with a V8 and made by American brands. While it still is comical, I think it’s just a bit to gross of a generalization of American performance car enthusiasts. On the flip side, I’m not hypersensitive and laughed when they made the joke about Americans and big trucks which I do have sitting right next to my turbo 4 banger in the garage. All-in-all I enjoyed the first episode of The Grand Tour and look forward to the next 35 episodes of content to come.
Sidenote: There are a LOT of similarities with the BBC’s Top Gear format. Let’s see how this develops. Drama!
Disclaimer: Cover photo is property of “The Grand Tour”
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