The Grand Tour Series 2 Could Be The Best Motoring TV Series Ever

I’m not even going to pretend. Over the last week and a half I’ve watched the trailer for The Grand Tour series two more times than I probably should have.

Why? Because I think it could be the best work that Clarkson, Hammond and May, plus Andy Wilman and Richard Porter, have ever produced.

We have two pieces of evidence to get excited about, plus a set of on-location pictures. The first is the video trailer, which, if you haven’t seen it yet, is above. It looks like a masterpiece of cinematography, with plenty of expansive drone footage, jaw-dropping locations and epic angles.

Next are the cars, which collectively look like a mental mix of things to get our teeth into. From desert racers wheelie-ing off into the distance to proper old-school supercars like the Lamborghini Aventador, and then the new age of electric, as represented by the Rimac Concept One. Yep, we all know how that episode ends.

There are what look like several cheap car challenges across various terrains, plus something that even has a small, old motorbike trying to make it along the sort of road that would make a tank driver think twice. Altogether it feels so full of life, of spark, of James May’s crotch fizz that I just can’t wait for the first episode on 8 December.

Some of you might bemoan the fact that cheap car challenges have been done before, but I know I’m not alone in thinking that they’ve always been the best parts of Clarkson-era Top Gear and The Grand Tour. Bring it on.

This is the team going back to what made them so loved in the first place, only with the benefits of better technology, more experience and, this time around, less stress. The three of them look like they’re properly enjoying themselves. That’s exactly what we want to see.

The second piece of evidence is Mike Skinner’s eviction as The American. I don’t think his character’s failure was his fault; I think it was badly written and generally mismanaged. It was always going to be impossible to follow the legendary Stig, just as Chris Evans could never really have hoped to have followed Clarkson.

Skinner’s departure means the producers are learning their lessons. They’re clearly looking at what didn’t work last time around and changing it up. Let’s hope Celebrity Brain Crash has breathed its last shuddering, sputum-fouled breath, and if they do carry on with hot laps at the Eboladrome or somewhere else, let’s hope it’s better executed. I think it will be.

A number of facets of series one felt overacted. It felt like the writers and presenters were trying too hard. Under the financial weight of the Amazon contract you can hardly blame them. But now, after that first series of being under the biggest microscope in the TV world, the early signs show that things are relaxing, and moving back up to a level that’s as good as anything we’ve ever seen. It’s going to be brilliant.