It is often said that life is all about balance. For presenters Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, James ‘Captain Throw’ May, and a prized Grand Tour machine, the basic principle is an alien concept.
Accustomed to desert drag racing, ocean adventures and intercontinental chaos, this trio has long been associated with extreme entertainment.
That said, it retains the trio’s penchant for disastrous crashes, similar to the upcoming special The Grand Tour: A Scandi Flick – in this case, it was May that gave the green light to the hospital. – The 90-minute episode finds itself meandering, returning to the show’s machine-driven roots.
“When you do a nimble, fluffy Grand Tour, car enthusiasts say, ‘It’s not what it used to be,’” says Clarkson, 62. easy to handle.
Clarkson dubbed the upcoming special “pretty hardcore” and predicts that the episode will prove to be “very popular among car enthusiasts.”
Hammond, 52, a fellow U-turn presenter, explains. Reflecting the widespread travel restrictions in place during the pandemic, lockdown restrictions acted as something of a palette cleanser, returning the show to its revived roots.
“In a way, [for] For the two shows we did in lockdown, we couldn’t rely on the ‘desert, mountains, jungle, glacier’ conditions,” says Hammond.
“We had to rely on what we were. Three middle-aged petrolheads are lucky to have these adventures together and are at the heart of the show.” It ignores the love of the subject matter.
So what can we expect from sub-zero Scandi conditions?
Traveled through Scandinavia, took parts of Norway and never once descended into the Arctic. A trio of presenters get ready to don thermals. Known for its hostile environment, cold winds and frequent snowfall regularly cause temperatures to plummet, sometimes as low as minus 30 degrees Celsius.
But Clarkson defies temperature extremes in its signature Clarkson style.
“We were able to get a laugh at the cost of those who claim this is Europe’s last wilderness, because it really isn’t,” Clarkson speculates.
The Clarkson’s Farm star explains that temperatures tend to range from 2 degrees to minus 2 degrees on average, and when there’s “a little wind,” temperatures can drop to minus 7 degrees. said.
“It’s a fascinating place to visit. I’ve been there a few times and I’m just amazed that people continue to live there.”
What can go wrong when you combine adventures on vast frozen lakes with rugged ski terrain?
What kind of antics can you expect from this latest action-packed installment?
To call it a petrolhead dream is not to ignore the adrenaline-fueled antics concocted by the trio. I have. Imagine a one-legged skier swinging behind May’s Evo, a car sliding under the crushed surface of a frozen lake, or a bus shelter being towed like a trailer.
However, certain stunts may change Captain Slow’s name. Engineering enthusiast May, who was rushed to hospital after crashing head-on into a tunnel wall at 40 mph, described the accident as “extremely disturbing.”
“I don’t know what hit me. Really, it’s totally different to me,” the presenter tweets. “I knew I was going to overdo it and crash.”
“When the wall was done, I thought, ‘Oh, this is actually going to be a pretty big bang,'” May recalls, recalling the moment she prepared for the impact.
An incident that saw him break a rib as a result of a collision, May downplayed the dramatic accident and switched the conversation to his love for beef hula hoops.
However, despite his claims, doctors subsequently ordered scans of his brain and spine after viewing crash footage from inside his car.
“I wasn’t screaming in pain,” May affirms. “There were no bones sticking out, and most importantly, I wasn’t run over by anyone. So I was fine from there.”
Clarkson’s tone, recounting the situation from a bystander’s perspective, becomes more somber as he points out the seriousness of the situation.
“This is what people need to remember in an accident: you can roll upside down down the road, catch fire as much as you want, and have very little chance of getting hurt,” the presenter explains.
“What pains you is that it suddenly stops. And that’s what happened to James.”
He further compares the accident to Hammond’s 2017 mountainside crash during the filming of an earlier installment of The Grand Tour.
An incident that saw Hammond airlifted to a hospital after his car tumbled down a hillside in St. Gallen, Switzerland, the hell that followed ensured very little wreckage remained.
The accident followed a 2006 incident in which the host sustained a serious head injury while driving at 316 miles per hour in top gear.
“Richard didn’t stop abruptly when he flipped, which is why he’s still here today,” says Clarkson.
“I’m not entirely sure how fast James hit the rock face, but I think it was 40 mph. Stopping at 40 mph is more dangerous than rolling down a hill.”
What about vehicles?
Abandoning luxury cars and ignoring quirky mods, Scandi flick sees the trio each choosing a rally car to help them traverse hostile Scandinavian terrain.
“We wanted to remember to satisfy our inner car nerd,” smiles Hammond. “And we knew that by choosing a car that we grew up with in rallying, we would get to ride in a car that we love.”
Hammond chose the timeless silhouette of the Subaru Impreza WRX STI “because it was made for rallying,” and Clarkson is no less competitive, behind the wheel of an Audi RS4.
Completed by Mei, who chose the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VIII line-up – “a real spec car” – the presenter immediately notices the convenient combination of “analogue gear and a few buttons to press”.
“It was yellow. I really like yellow cars,” says May, 59.
The Grand Tour: A Scandi Flick will be available on Prime Video on September 16th.
