Jeremy Clarkson, James May and Richard Hammond reunited at The Tower of London on Wednesday for the premiere of the new series of The Grand Tour, as they handed over the baton to its new hosts.
The Prime Video show is set to return on Friday, with viral train-spotter Francis Bourgeois, YouTuber James Engelsman and motoring journalist Thomas Holland taking over from the presenting trio.
The original stars, who first rose to fame as the hosts of Top Gear, were in attendance for the premiere at the historic fortress and posed for a selfie with the show's new presenters. Clarkson then shared the photograph with his followers on Instagram, accompanied by the tongue-in-cheek caption: "Grand Tour handover. Good luck guys."
Clarkson, May and Hammond stepped down from The Grand Tour in 2024 after six series. Their final special, One for the Road, ended more than two decades of working together across Top Gear and The Grand Tour. Their mix of ambitious road trips, studio features and challenges had transformed the BBC programme into a global success before they reunited for the Prime Video show in 2016.
Cameo appearances
The reboot marks the first full series of The Grand Tour without Clarkson, Hammond and May as its main presenters. However, the new series will not be entirely without the original stars, who are making cameo appearances in some of the films.
The opening episode sees Bourgeois, Engelsman and Holland pay a visit to Clarkson at his Diddly Squat farm, the agricultural property that forms the basis of his Prime Video documentary series.
During the visit, Clarkson offers his successors stark words of advice for their new roles. "Listen, guys. Seriously. Have fun with this. Good luck. Don't f*** it up. Right?" he tells them.
He then admits his confidence in the new presenting team. "I've got to be honest with you. I've actually been watching what they've been up to for the past year and a half, and they're very, very good. You're gonna love it."
Andy Wilman, who retained his job as a consultant on the show, confirmed that all three original hosts will appear in the new run to offer advice to the new trio.
"We, as in the outgoing team, don't have a monopoly on some blokes doing entertaining things around cars," Wilman told The Sunday Times. "We wouldn't want a monopoly. So when Amazon said it was going again with Grand Tour 2, we were all happy to get involved."
Wilman explained that the cameos allow the new hosts to seek guidance from the departing stars in their own environments. "Jeremy, Richard and James are doing cameos in some of the films, which I think is really important. Jeremy's at the farm doing his thing. Richard's down at his workshop, James is at his pub. They're the kind of retired veterans and these new guys pop in to get their advice."
Global challenges
The new series will see the new presenters travel around the world to tackle important motoring questions, featuring guest appearances from the original trio alongside Formula One World Champion Jenson Button.
Bourgeois, Engelsman and Holland will attempt to sneak undetected across the mountainous US state of Colorado in a trio of Japanese microcars. In another challenge, they will investigate what is the most unbreakable car in history.
The trio will also test whether there is anything quicker than a Pagani hypercar if you urgently need to put something onto the head of Formula One driver Alex Albon.
In California, the team will test the latest American muscle cars by taking on a bunch of fighter jets. The featured vehicles include the Ford Mustang GTD, the Chevrolet Corvette ZR1, and the 2,000-horsepower Hennessey Venom F5 Revolution Evolution, which costs $2.75 million.
Elsewhere, Bourgeois, Engelsman and Holland head to Malaysia to delve into the nation's rich car culture while investigating just how little you can spend on a sports car without it immediately blowing up. They will also journey through the desert of Angola in track cars utterly unsuited for the job.
Absolute petrol heads
The transition marks a shift in casting for major motoring programmes. Unlike former Top Gear presenters Freddie Flintoff and Paddy McGuinness, who were already well-known television personalities before joining the BBC motoring show, the new trio are making the transition from digital platforms and enthusiast communities to front one of streaming television's biggest automotive brands.
This approach aligns with advice Clarkson previously offered regarding the show's future. The Who Wants To Be A Millionaire host, who recently revealed his cancer battle, said the new hosts needed to be deeply knowledgeable about vehicles.
"There's no point hiring somebody who 'likes' cars. Because that's not enough," Clarkson said. "I would get three complete unknowns. Start small, like we did. They've got to be absolute petrol heads."
He added that the new presenters needed encyclopaedic motoring knowledge. "I've got to be able to show them a picture of a quarter of a door mirror from any car ever made, and they've got to know what it is. That would be my advice."
Positive reception
Fans already have high hopes for the new trio, and were quick to shower praise on the epic first trailer when it was released last month. The footage previewed the show's humour, including one moment where Bourgeois goes for a big car reveal, removing a vehicle cover before struggling to actually get it off as the others broke down laughing.
While in another scene the group are kayaking, and as Engelsman tried to get into his boat he ended up lying on his front. Holland then called over: "What riding position are you going for?" Engelsman cheekily replied back: "Missionary I guess."
Fans were quick to share their excitement over the trailer online. One wrote: "I can't believe I'm saying this but I think this has a chance to work."
Another penned: "Honestly, the fact that these guys have the blessing from Clarkson, Hammond and May... I'm excited for it."
A third fan admitted their initial scepticism had vanished. "I was one of the people that said they have no chance and that I will never watch this show without the og trio. But this really looks great. I'm gonna give it a try!"
Another added: "ngl this looks great, I have high hopes! Lowkey excited; This is going to be epic."
While the original presenters have departed, Clarkson has remained in the spotlight through the continued success of Clarkson's Farm, which has become one of Prime Video's biggest factual entertainment hits. Hammond and May have continued with separate television and online projects.
