New Grand Tour trailer has made me want to watch for the first time

‘Welcome to our first Grand Tour!’ Francis Bourgeois says, his squeaky voice breaking with excitement.

The new Grand Tour is already a far cry from the old iteration, which was hosted by a trio of presenters who’ve appeared on screen together for more than 20 years.

Top Gear and its successor never really appealed to me. I’m not a big petrolhead (as much as I love my basic Fiat 500), and given my age and interest in other genres, I didn’t feel as though I was the demographic that Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May were targeting.

But seconds into the trailer for the new Amazon Prime reboot, I was already charmed. The chemistry between the three new hosts feels awkwardly endearing, a sharp contrast to the boisterous banter between the original presenters that – when I watched the odd episode – just didn’t feel accessible to me personally.

There’s a reason that Jeremy, Richard and James are hailed as TV legends. They took Top Gear and The Grand Tour to stratospheric heights, with the former recognised by the Guinness World Records as the most widely viewed factual TV programme in the world. 

Following their exit from the BBC, The Grand Tour launched on Amazon Prime, with the show’s debut in November 2016 breaking streaming records on the platform. The stats speak for themselves – it just wasn’t my cup of tea… until now?

Earlier this month, the first teaser was released for the revival, which is being hosted by viral train obsessive Francis, and YouTubers James Engelsman and Thomas Holland. Now, a full trailer has been revealed, providing a greater insight into the upcoming new episodes – and so far, they’re going down a treat with impressed fans.

We see the new trio screaming with excitement while behind the wheel, Francis bashing into an automatic barrier while Thomas sprints away, James laying pelvis-first in a tiny boat on the ocean, and the presenters completely losing their cool meeting Jenson Button.

And no, Thomas doesn’t recover his cool when he goes in for a handshake – no, a fistbump – no, whatever he ends up doing with his hands while greeting the Formula One legend.

At one point in the trailer, the hosts begin a dramatic countdown, yelling out ‘three, two, one’, before Francis attempts to pull the tarp off of a car – failing drastically when it gets caught.

If you thought that you’d seen Francis at his most excited when trainspotting (with his videos going viral in 2021), then prepare to see his enthusiasm go absolutely through the roof when he floors it going god knows how fast, shouting: ‘Absolute hellfire!’

In another dramatic moment, Thomas is behind the wheel with a helmet on, when he asks: ‘Where’s the jet?’

Perhaps he should be careful what he wishes for, as the jet in question soars right in front of his car, resulting in him swearing in shock.

Another car jets high up in the air after bouncing off what seems to be some sort of parachute or blow up device, parts of the vehicle dropping off like a rocket heading into outer space.

More chaos ensues – and I’m already sucked in. 

I’m sure there might be people that’ll tell me this is exactly what the original Grand Tour was like, and so I’m getting excited over something that’s been done a million times before, but I think it’s the dynamic between Francis, Thomas and James that’s really sold it for me. 

‘I can’t believe I’m saying this but I think this has a chance to work,’ PiwoszJr commented on YouTube in response to the trailer.

‘Honestly, the fact that these guys have the blessing from Wilman, Clarkson, Hammond and May… I’m excited for it,’ VintageMatthews remarked.

‘It looks like they are genuinely having a great time and that there is real chemistry between them,’ JA_520 also shared.

A Grand Tour aficionado called vojtechraiser160 admitted that they were one of the people who declared that the new trio ‘had no chance’ and that they’d ‘never watch this show without the og trio’. ‘But this really looks great. I’m gonna give it a try!’ they added.

‘You three will prove all naysayers wrong! Go on guys!’ baar_nii wrote.

It’s worth noting, as mentioned above, that Jeremy, Richard and James have given the new presenters their blessing, and are going to make cameos on the show following their departures.

Am I about to become a Grand Tour fan? I have a sneaky suspicion I might be.

The Grand Tour returns on Thursday September 4 on Amazon Prime.