Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May’s Top Gear days may be behind them, but it seems their Amazon Prime show will be business as usual.
A video has appeared online of the ex-Top Gear trio driving a jacked-up Mercedes SL through the (not-so-mean) streets of Cobham in Surrey. 51-year-old Stuart Cox filmed the video, which shows Clarkson drive up to the camera.
55-year-old Clarkson pulls up with a cheeky grin on his face, before asking: “Are you filming this car because it’s excellent?”
“It’s pretty different,” Cox replies, a description repeated by Hammond in the back, who is clearly not the biggest fan of the ridiculous vehicle. May appears similarly unimpressed.
Clarkson being Clarkson ignores his co-hosts and responds in his trademark style. “Different, exactly – he means brilliant,” before driving off.
Cox was heading to the opticians when he spotted the car and started capturing footage on his smartphone. “I saw the car go past a few times so I went to be a bit nosey and see what was going on,” he told the Mirror newspaper.
“I was quite shocked when I saw who it was behind the wheel. I was standing on the traffic island in the middle of the road and I really didn’t expect him to stop, but he did.
“Jeremy asked me what I thought of the car and it sounded like he was trying to convince the other two about it. They didn’t exactly look enamoured.”
He added: “It was brilliant to see. I’m a Top Gear fan so it made me smile.”
The hosts were filming for a new Amazon motoring show that will go up against the BBC’s revamped Top Gear, which is said to be delayed due to various issues including the departure of executive producer Lisa Clark.
The new hosts include Recombu Cars editor-in-chief Rory Reid, radio DJ Chris Evans and Friends star Matt LeBlanc. Top Gear will reportedly air later than expected in May due to said delays.
Reports say Clarkson, executive producer Andy Wilman and the rest of the team have been paid to create three 12-episode seasons of the unnamed Amazon Prime show, each episode around an hour long.
Clarkson previously slagged off crossovers – cars that offer the a combination of vehicle types in one package – in his Sunday Times column. Given the Merc’s off-road wheels and convertible styling, this may well be the team’s interpretation and the subject of a segment in the new show.
Earlier in the week Clarkson tweeted a picture of an extremely damaged car (looks like an MG MGB, if you ask us) with the accompanying words: “Had a bit of an accident while filming today.” An understatement, if ever there was one.
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