Top trio a Grand spectacle as they take to the roads
Are the three petrolhead kings of television starting to run on fumes? That was the question being asked after rumours surfaced last month that this third season of The Grand Tour (now streaming on Amazon Prime Video) would be the last – the show to be replaced by a series of ‘‘specials’’.
Well, based on the evidence of the first episode, the former Top Gear trio still possess plenty of vim and vigour, even if they are looking a little more road weary. James May seems slightly more
‘‘Why has it been taken over by organic vegan peace-hippies, when it could be a pulsating playground for petrolheads?’’ Jeremy Clarkson
unkempt, Richard Hammond’s designer facial hair suggests a mid-life crisis, and Jeremy Clarkson’s seatbelts appear tighter.
Yet, they still command a rapturous welcome from their studio audience and instantly come to life whenever an opportunity to mock another presents itself.
The Grand Tour by now is classic Top Gear with minor tweaks. That means opening with a montage of the 13 weeks to come, an action-packed trailer that promises exploding helicopters, DIY vehicle-building challenges and the traditional thrills, spills, insults and incandescent rage.
Then it was off to Detroit, global motoring’s spiritual home, which has become a shadow of its former self. As the triumvirate toured their Ford Mustang, Dodge Challenger Demon and Hennessey Camaro
around the abandoned streets, they lamented how a city that once boasted 43 car factories only has two.
Never afraid of hyperbole, Clarkson suggested it was the fastest shift in a place’s fortunes ever, a claim that May and Hammond quickly countered with the names of Hiroshima and Pompeii. If that was distressing for the group’s elder statesman, then the sight of community vegetable plots dotted around the landscape made him apoplectic.
‘‘Why has it been taken over by organic vegan peace-hippies, when it could be a pulsating playground for petrolheads?’’
Naturally, that led to a physical display of contempt for lovingly planted kale and a series of challenges to test the mettle of their respective vehicles. However, there’s a problem, even before the first one gets underway.
Hammond drops out of a proposed street drag race, because Dodge specifically won’t let him use the car for that purpose. To gleefully rub it in, the other two then proceed to race each other around 20 times, while a despondent ‘‘Hamster’’ watches on.
And if that didn’t bring the noise, then the next contest certainly did. Performing in a derelict car park that was once a rock concert venue, each driver had to make the biggest sound they could with their charge.
Clarkson reached Deep Purple levels, while, after initial issues trying to complete a doughnut, May skyrocketed to a peak not even The Who could emulate.
The final showdown? A race around a Hammond-designed track in a former Cadillac factory. When it emerged Clarkson’s Mustang would clearly have the edge, the other two conspired to sabotage his final lap via a barrel of palm oil.
While there’s a sense of deja vu about the hijinks carried out by Captain Slow, Sir Crash-a-lot and ‘‘the orangutan’’, there’s no doubting they still possess the power to make a motoring show entertaining and accessible.
Everything felt like a natural progression towards a complete focus on those ‘‘touring specials’’ that have proved so popular.