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'The Grand Tour' returns to Amazon Prime December 8th
Following a bit of a hiatus, Amazon Prime's The Grand Tour will return with season two December 8th. Earlier this year co-host Richard Hammond was involved in a nasty EV wreck with a Rimac Concept One supercar. He fared "mostly OK" according to co-host Jeremy Clarkson at the time. Clarkson himself was hospitalized this year as well, but for entirely different reasons. Namely, he had a particularly nasty case of pneumonia that almost killed him.
Amazon star Richard Hammond involved in electric car crash (updated)
It's a scary day for both The Grand Tour viewers and the motoring world at large. Amazon has revealed that show co-host Richard Hammond was involved in a crash while filming Grand Tour's second season in Switzerland. Hammond thankfully escaped with only a fractured knee, but the incident destroyed the Rimac Concept One electric supercar he was driving (the photo above shows what's left). While it's not certain what led to the crash, Amazon notes that there was no one else embroiled in the incident.
Amazon's 'The Grand Tour' car show launches November 18th
If you've been missing Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May, then it's time to mark your calendar. The old Top Gear trio's new show is called The Grand Tour, and will begin streaming its episodes on November 18th. You'll need a subscription to Amazon Prime to watch, but there's no word on if or where it will air in countries where the subscription video service isn't available yet.
Former 'Top Gear' hosts plan DriveTribe motoring community
With an Amazon series well underway, Jeremy Clarkson, James May and Richard Hammond are turning their attention to other projects. As Variety reports, they've teamed up with entrepreneur Ernesto Shcmitt and Top Gear executive producer Andy Wilman to build a community-driven motoring site. It's called DriveTribe and will launch this fall with a team of 20 full-time employees. The specifics are a little woolly, but the idea is that each "tribe" will be managed by a celebrity, writer or filmer like the Clarkson crew, creating and curating content for their fellow motorheads.
Amazon snaps up former 'Top Gear' trio for new motoring show
Amazon has announced that it's signed a deal with ousted Top Gear presenters Jeremy Clarkson, James May and Richard Hammond for a new motoring show. The stars of the popular BBC franchise left the program earlier this year when Clarkson was fired as a consequence of punching a producer. Almost instantly, rumors of the trio launching a rival with another broadcaster spread, with Netflix the surprise front-runner.
English Court: Top Gear didn't libel Tesla
BBC's Top Gear (it's like The Engadget Show, but for cars) did not libel Tesla Motors when it reviewed the Tesla Roadster way back in 2008. Jeremy Clarkson's review showed the super-EV conking out after 55 miles of driving (a quarter of its expected range), suffering brake failures and an engine overheat that Elon Musk's company flatly denies ever happening. In the High Court, however, Mr Justice Tugendhat said that people could tell the difference between Clarkson's torturous, heavy-footed "powerrrrrrrrr" driving that goes on at Dunsfold Aerodrome, and the staid manner in which people drive on motorways. Tesla still maintains that the review has damaged its image, which is why it's also pursuing a claim for malicious falsehood, yet to be decided -- and on that bombshell, here's the original, legally non-libelous review for your enjoyment... goodnight!
Top Gear team builds EV, shows how complex car production really is
The presenters of Top Gear, among the finer specimens of British television talent (Dr. Gregory House being another), were this past week engaged in designing and building an electric vehicle purportedly intended to compete with the likes of the Chevy Volt. Set a time limit of a mere 18 hours, they produced the marvel of rushed engineering and shoddy workmanship you see above. The Hammerhead Eagle i-Thrust (believe us, you'll have no reason to remember the name) was even put through its paces by Autocar magazine, whose video "review" can be found after the break. We won't spoil the details for you, but if you want a conclusion, this one's pretty unequivocal: "there's a really good chance you could kill yourself" riding in this car.
BBC confirms Top Gear is filming this season in HD
We've been wondering for some time when the regular edition of Top Gear (the Polar Special was a glorious, yet singular, event) would make its debut in high definition, and today the BBC Internet Blog confirmed this is the year. Set to debut November 15th, we'll finally be able to see the Stig -- whoever he is -- put some of the world's most exclusive cars through their paces in great quality. Whether that news has you checking the channel lineup for BBC America HD or bookmarking a torrent site we can all agree this is a fine day indeed.[Via Digital Spy]
