The New Top Gear: Everything you need to know

With Jeremy Clarkson’s dramatic exit from BBC’s top gear, it’s no wonder his new show for Amazon Prime – which will reportedly begin screening in Autumn - has been a hot topic of late. With people asking everything from where it will be filmed to how many original Top Gear presenters and features will remain, there are ample spy photos, hints and leaks churning out of the rumour mill.

But the main question on everyone's lips is: what is it going to be called?

As the BBC is sticking with Top Gear, there has been rife speculation about what the new Amazon Prime version will be called "Gear Knobs". However, Jeremy dispelled these rumours. We have since had clarification from Clarkson that it will be called The Grand Tour. He said: 

"We'll be travelling the world hosting each episode in a different country, from a giant tent. It's a sort of "grand tour", if you like. So we've decided to call it 'The Grand Tour'."

Here are your burning questions about The Grand Tour answered:

Will the presenters be the same?

The banterous trio will in fact be back! Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May will return to our screens as a threesome after both Hammond and May quit their jobs at the BBC in solidarity with Clarkson. Hammond announced on his Twitter account:

"The band is back together and it feels brilliant."

Having previously travelled the world together on their Top Gear Live show, the threesome are incredibly close and judging by their recent good humoured Twitter jibes, they aren’t sick of one another just yet!

Where will the show be broadcast?

Some fans were concerned that they would be missing out, as Amazon Prime is only available in certain countries. However, when one fan tweeted his disappointment about the new show only being available in the US and UK, Jeremey was quick to dispel his concern with a one word reply tweet which read ‘wrong’.

However, Amazon and Jeremy are yet to confirm exactly which countries will be broadcasting the show, but it is thought to be quite limited; UK, US, Germany and Austria will be the lucky few to get a look in when the show is first launched.

When do we get our first glimpse?

The show will come out some time in the autumn, according to reports. When exactly, no one is sure, but media watchers have hinted it will be closer to the end of autumn – as late as November. This will still see Amazon Prime streets ahead of BBC’s Top Gear, who are reportedly having teething problems; new host Chris Evans is said to be finding it difficult to drive and talk simultaneously, and has also be pictured vomiting by the side of a race track. A Top Gear presenter that gets car sick? Doesn’t exactly bode well…

Where will the show be filmed?

Overseas fans may be disappointed at missing out on the launch of the series, however they might be lucky enough to catch a glimpse of the car-crazy threesome filming on location in different hotspots around the globe!

According to a Daily Mirror report from last year, Jeremy is planning to "broadcast the show from different venues around the world – rather than a set studio base in one location."

This was clear after this very Tweet from Jeremy Clarkson:

Another day in the office pic.twitter.com/RHmkuSObwf

— Jeremy Clarkson (@JeremyClarkson) February 27, 2016

Why Amazon?

Clarkson reportedly received offers from the ITV, Netflix and Sky, so why did he decide to go with Amazon? Top Gear producer Andy Wilman claimed the Top Gear team were ‘all crap at business’ and that doing deals wasn’t their forte, however they came to the decision based on the fact that Amazon would give them the creative freedom to take the reins in the making of the show, with no interference.

Wilman said of Amazon “"Everyone we have talked to has told us: 'They leave you alone to make your show'. That's a big one for us – we don't like interference, we don't need to be policed."

How much is it going to cost me to watch?

Yep, you read that right. Amazon Prime is a subscriber only channel, meaning if you want to catch the show, you’re going to have to shell out £79 a year for the privilege.

There’s going to be 12 episodes in each series, and three series in total – so it’s up to you to decide if the annual subscription is worth it…

Anything else new?

In true Jeremy Clarkson style, only the latest technology will do; the show will be made in ‘4K’, the latest standard for ultra-high-definition video – basically one step up from normal HD TV. Oh, and there will be no ad breaks, which Jeremy is said to be ‘delighted’ about. The budget for the new show was reported by the Financial Times to be 160m - (We pretty sure he’s delighted about that, too…).

The deal is yet to be made public, but the according to the FT it’s the ‘largest ever agreed by a digital streaming group’ and ‘double the amount Netfilx paid for two seasons of House of Cards’.

So there you have it, everything you need to know about the yet-to-be-named, new (and improved?) Top Gear! We for one can’t wait to see if it lives up to the hype – that is if it ever gets launched; Jeremy isn’t one to mince his controversial words, hence there’s already a petition in place to remove him from the show.

Watch this space...!

Feature image credit: MediaPictures.pl / Shutterstock