Uploaded August 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Top Gear is returning to the BBC and The Grand Tour is back on Prime Video. Can either car show work without Clarkson, Hammond and May?
The new Grand Tour launches globally on 4 September 2026 with Throttle House presenters Thomas Holland and James Engelsman, joined by Francis Bourgeois. The BBC has confirmed that Top Gear will return, although its presenters, format and broadcast date remain unannounced.
In this BrownCarGuy commentary, I examine whether these revivals come from a genuine passion for cars, or from broadcasters hoping there is still money left in two famous motoring brands.
Top Gear’s greatest era relied on the chemistry, credibility and authentic motoring knowledge of Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May. Copying the test track, scripted bickering, ridiculous challenges and exploding caravans never recreated the magic elsewhere.
The new Grand Tour team deserves a fair chance, especially with the established Throttle House partnership at its core. Yet The Grand Tour was created specifically around Clarkson, Hammond and May, leaving its new presenters with a formidable identity problem.
There is also a far more serious question. Following Freddie Flintoff’s life-changing accident while filming Top Gear, should two competing motoring programmes feel pressured to deliver bigger stunts, harsher terrain and increasingly dangerous spectacles?
YouTube already offers unlimited car reviews, motoring news, cheap-car challenges, drag races, road trips and petrolhead silliness. Major broadcasters have the budgets, access, research and production expertise to create magnificent driving tours, investigations and cinematic documentaries about engineering, industry, history, people and global motoring culture.
In this video:
• Why Clarkson, Hammond and May were almost impossible to replace
• The motoring credibility behind their famous chemistry
• Why international versions of Top Gear struggled
• Jimmy Carr, Steve Coogan and the poisoned chalice of presenting Top Gear
• The challenge facing Thomas Holland, James Engelsman and Francis Bourgeois
• Freddie Flintoff, Chris Harris and safety in motoring television
• Why YouTube has overtaken traditional television car shows
• How Top Gear could return to its serious motoring roots
• The epic car programmes broadcasters should be making
Do you want Top Gear and The Grand Tour back? Who should present Top Gear? Will you watch the new Grand Tour? Tell me what you think in the comments.
CHAPTERS
00:00 Top Gear and The Grand Tour are coming back
00:35 Do we really need either show?
02:28 Can Top Gear ever be recreated?
03:07 What made Clarkson, Hammond and May work
04:50 Why the other Top Gear versions struggled
05:59 Jimmy Carr and the poisoned chalice
06:49 Steve Coogan turned down Top Gear
07:26 The Grand Tour’s new presenters
09:33 Can it survive without the original trio?
10:44 The dangerous race for bigger stunts
11:09 Freddie Flintoff and the safety question
13:39 YouTube already owns car-guy silliness
14:16 What television can still do better
17:12 My verdict on both revivals
Subscribe for independent motoring news, honest car reviews, industry insights and outspoken opinion:
youtube.com/@BrownCarGuy?sub_confirmation=1
🌐 Latest stories and videos:
BrownCarGuy.com
📲 Follow BrownCarGuy, explore my books and find all my links:
https://linktr.ee/BrownCarGuy
📌 Support independent automotive journalism
Become a channel member:
youtube.com/browncarguy/join
Buy me a coffee:
ko-fi.com/browncarguy
Support me on Patreon:
patreon.com/BrownCarGuy
📧 Sponsorships, reviews, collaborations and media enquiries:
Contact me through BrownCarGuy.com or my social channels.
Discover my books
From automotive advice and motoring science fiction to dystopian and international thrillers:
browncarguy.com/2025/05/12/browncarguy-books
Titles include How to Be an Automotive Content Creator, The ULEZ Files, Quantum Races and Silent Ruin.
Top Gear is returning to the BBC and The Grand Tour is back on Prime Video. Can either car show work without Clarkson, Hammond and May?
The new Grand Tour launches globally on 4 September 2026 with Throttle House presenters Thomas Holland and James Engelsman, joined by Francis Bourgeois. The BBC has confirmed that Top Gear will return, although its presenters, format and broadcast date remain unannounced.
In this BrownCarGuy commentary, I examine whether these revivals come from a genuine passion for cars, or from broadcasters hoping there is still money left in two famous motoring brands.
Top Gear’s greatest era relied on the chemistry, credibility and authentic motoring knowledge of Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May. Copying the test track, scripted bickering, ridiculous challenges and exploding caravans never recreated the magic elsewhere.
The new Grand Tour team deserves a fair chance, especially with the established Throttle House partnership at its core. Yet The Grand Tour was created specifically around Clarkson, Hammond and May, leaving its new presenters with a formidable identity problem.
There is also a far more serious question. Following Freddie Flintoff’s life-changing accident while filming Top Gear, should two competing motoring programmes feel pressured to deliver bigger stunts, harsher terrain and increasingly dangerous spectacles?
YouTube already offers unlimited car reviews, motoring news, cheap-car challenges, drag races, road trips and petrolhead silliness. Major broadcasters have the budgets, access, research and production expertise to create magnificent driving tours, investigations and cinematic documentaries about engineering, industry, history, people and global motoring culture.
In this video:
• Why Clarkson, Hammond and May were almost impossible to replace
• The motoring credibility behind their famous chemistry
• Why international versions of Top Gear struggled
• Jimmy Carr, Steve Coogan and the poisoned chalice of presenting Top Gear
• The challenge facing Thomas Holland, James Engelsman and Francis Bourgeois
• Freddie Flintoff, Chris Harris and safety in motoring television
• Why YouTube has overtaken traditional television car shows
• How Top Gear could return to its serious motoring roots
• The epic car programmes broadcasters should be making
Do you want Top Gear and The Grand Tour back? Who should present Top Gear? Will you watch the new Grand Tour? Tell me what you think in the comments.
CHAPTERS
00:00 Top Gear and The Grand Tour are coming back
00:35 Do we really need either show?
02:28 Can Top Gear ever be recreated?
03:07 What made Clarkson, Hammond and May work
04:50 Why the other Top Gear versions struggled
05:59 Jimmy Carr and the poisoned chalice
06:49 Steve Coogan turned down Top Gear
07:26 The Grand Tour’s new presenters
09:33 Can it survive without the original trio?
10:44 The dangerous race for bigger stunts
11:09 Freddie Flintoff and the safety question
13:39 YouTube already owns car-guy silliness
14:16 What television can still do better
17:12 My verdict on both revivals
Subscribe for independent motoring news, honest car reviews, industry insights and outspoken opinion:
youtube.com/@BrownCarGuy?sub_confirmation=1
🌐 Latest stories and videos:
BrownCarGuy.com
📲 Follow BrownCarGuy, explore my books and find all my links:
https://linktr.ee/BrownCarGuy
📌 Support independent automotive journalism
Become a channel member:
youtube.com/browncarguy/join
Buy me a coffee:
ko-fi.com/browncarguy
Support me on Patreon:
patreon.com/BrownCarGuy
📧 Sponsorships, reviews, collaborations and media enquiries:
Contact me through BrownCarGuy.com or my social channels.
Discover my books
From automotive advice and motoring science fiction to dystopian and international thrillers:
browncarguy.com/2025/05/12/browncarguy-books
Titles include How to Be an Automotive Content Creator, The ULEZ Files, Quantum Races and Silent Ruin.
