the grand tour up gti

The Grand Tour S2E5 Recap And Review: Mid-Season, Middle Of The Pack

Have you ever wanted to see Richard Hammond drive a tank through a wall? No? Me neither. But I didn’t know I did until tonight’s episode of  The Grand Tour ,  “Up, Down, And Round The Farm.”

The first film is Richard’s stunt-and-crash-filled trip to the UAE. He starts out driving a massively overpowered dune buggy that does quite excellent wheelies, but thankfully for Richard, he’s doing them on a flat surface far away from any badly placed Swiss hills. Then we get the really fun bit: the Ripsaw, a fast, lightweight tank which is designed for the customer and is apparently legal to drive on a road (and atop roundabouts). At least in Dubai.

Visibility is reportedly poor, but since you can drive it over anything which might escape your view, it’s not too much of a problem. Taking it through a shopping mall, and through a wall within it, is somewhat opposite to Clarkson’s trip through a mall in the P45 on  TopGear.  It’s a crisply-produced, informative, and fun segment overall.

Up next is James’ review of the refreshingly tiny and underpowered Volkswagen Up! GTI, which is a wonderful little thing on paper. It’s quite slow, but it has retro paint and plaid seats, which makes it absolute petrolhead bait. Naturally, it’s got a couple of explosions too–the film, not the car, because Hammond’s not driving–as, of course,  The Grand Tour  doesn’t do subtle. I may smell a petrol-powered replacement once the lease on his i3 is up.

Its track time is barely worth mentioning, but it does a catastrophically slow 1:39.7 if you’re interested. But that’s simply not what the Up! GTI is about, and most people won’t care less.

During Celebrity Face-Off, two people who have failed former careers in a band, actor Dominic Cooper and comedian Bill Bailey, take the F-Type around the celebrity track. Bailey tells the story of how he bought a Citroen DS to escape France during the infamous explosion of that one Icelandic volcano whose name I can’t be bothered to Google, then Cooper discusses learning to drive in a Citroen 2CV and his current Austin-Healey Sprite. In the end, Cooper turns a 1:23.6, handily beating Bailey’s 1:25.1, despite the latter’s massive quantity of speeding tickets.

Clarkson then tries to create his own version of a Ken Block drifting video, using an old Subaru and a bit of farmland. The resulting…thing is “Farmkhana,” which, thanks to the show’s trademark astronomical production quality, initially turns out quite convincingly, all the shots of Clarkson’s exposed teeth notwithstanding. About halfway through, however, Clarkson’s innate lack of talent becomes clear as the Subaru gains a new crack or dent with virtually every shot, providing plenty of fodder during Hammond and May’s shot-by-shot takedown of the entire film.

The final film is much more fun than I expected it to be, as it provides a nice little peek behind the scenes of the show, such as what color t-shirts the cameramen favor and where the support van is parked. Until, that is, until we reach the sheep-herding part, in which many dead sheep are peppered all over the field and the Subaru ends up in a ditch, and the show’s utter inability to reign it in becomes evident. Humor quickly dissolves into disbelief, and it doesn’t help that in the very next segment, the Subaru turns into an Audi mid-jump and crashes into a tractor, only to be addressed back in the tent with Clarkson again feigning disbelief.

Overall, the episode has a strong start buoyed by the great Ripsaw and Volkswagen films and a Celebrity Face-Off with some engaging anecdotes and car talk. The contrived, sensationalized end to the otherwise fun Farmkhana film (which I shall do my best to criticize without saying “scripted”) undeniably drags it down, however, making for an overall unremarkable fifth episode, possibly the reason for its burial mid-season. Nevertheless, it’s still  The Grand Tour,  and as long as you can stomach the sight of some staged dead sheep, it’s worth a casual watch.

The Grand Tour-Season 2, Episode 5 Trailer

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Up, down and round the farm

• Edit source
• 1.1.1 Film (1)
• 1.1.2 Film (2)
• 1.2 Track Test
• 1.3 Conversation Street
• 1.4 Celebrity Face Off

Synopsis [ ]

Film(s) [ ], film (1) [ ].

Hammond heads to Dubai for a test of the Ripsaw high speed tank, made famous by the Fate of the Furious .

Film (2) [ ]

Clarkson attempts to make a Gymkhana video on a British farm with an old Subaru Impreza WRX.

Track Test [ ]

May, in a rare visit to the Eboladrome, tests the Volkswagen Up! GTi.

Conversation Street [ ]

Sting: Clarkson drops an anvil on May's head, to no effect.

The presenters take a look at the upcoming production and concept cars of 2018, such as the Bentley Continental GT, the AMG Project One, the BMW 8 Series, the Lamborghini Terzo Millennio, the Renault Alaskan, and the Dodge Challenger SRT Demon.

Celebrity Face Off [ ]

English comedian Bill Bailey and actor Dominic Cooper face off this week on a wet track with Bailey's 1:25.1, losing to Cooper's 1:23.6, making him the "Fastest person who has a failed former career in a Band".

• 2 International Buffoons' Vacation
• 3 A Massive Hunt

The Grand Tour: One For The Road – a trip down memory lane

Our 'gouty trio' bow out after 21 years together with banter, breakdowns, and efforts not to blub

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The ultimate televised boys' own adventure is coming to a crashing end and there is a "melancholy cast" to this epic two-hour final episode, said The Times ' Victoria Segal. Of course, they're not running short of the "banter, the breakdowns, the stunts" either, yet there's sadness here, too.

"The Grand Tour" started in 2016 after Prime Video gave the trio a new home following Clarkson's dismissal from "Top Gear" by the BBC. And this epic two-hour special is a "well-earned testimonial," said The Telegraph 's Benji Wilson.

The "gouty trio" make for an unlikely "vital cultural export," said The Independent 's Nick Hilton. These rather unglamorous middle-aged men are "global attachés for a form of shambling masculinity." Jeremy Clarkson , James May and Richard Hammond are driving 600 miles across Zimbabwe in their dream wheels – Clarkson in a customised Lancia Montecarlo, May in a Triumph Stag and Hammond in a MK1 Ford Capri RS3100. The landscape is something to behold: notably a "jacaranda-lined avenue in Harare" and a "haze of the salt flats" that they emerge from like Lawrence of Arabia. 

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The trio have stuck to the line, said Yahoo News 's Ian Hyland that this is the last time they will work together and there is a "definite finality" to proceedings, despite the fact that the first half is mainly made up of stunning scenery, broken down cars and some light bullying of Hammond ( plus ça change ) "well, he had just had a naff tattoo done". Yet, when they reach Harare and read a local paper's write-up of their final journey, the trip become decidedly wistful, though they're clear they won't be "ending up in the same old folks' home together".

Still, perhaps now is not a bad time to be parking up. As Clarkson notes, said Wilson, "Cars aren't as interesting as they used to be: electric cars are essentially just new white goods", where "views and reviews take place largely online".

It's James May who comes closest to blubbing, on Jeremy's newly acquired boat no less, though he quickly pulls out the stiff upper lip, merely saying, "Anyway, I hope we've brought you a little happiness." Indeed, after 21 years together, said Segal, the gang have had a "good run".

"The Grand Tour: One for the Road" is streaming on Prime Video from Friday, 13 September.

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The Grand Tour: One for the Road review – Can the show go out with a bang?

After 22 years of driving around the globe together, jeremy clarkson, james may and richard hammond go for one last blokey adventure in zimbabwe, article bookmarked.

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To those with only a basic understanding of the United Kingdom – a land of pageantry, ancient history, and afternoon tea – the idea that a motoring show, hosted by three unglamorous middle-aged blokes, would be one of our most vital cultural exports might seem strange. But – first with  Top Gear  and now with  The Grand Tour  – the gouty trio of Jeremy Clarkson , James May and Richard Hammond have become global attachés for a form of shambling masculinity. As their Amazon motoring travel show comes to an end , can they send the format – which they invented – out with a bang?

The premise of One for the Road is simple: to drive the breadth of Zimbabwe in cars of their own choosing. Clarkson picks a Lancia Montecarlo, May a Triumph Stag, and Hammond a Ford Capri – and then they’re off. It is a journey that will take them through the bustling streets of Harare, over the crocodile-infested waters of Lake Kariba, and soon into Botswana. That is, to some extent, where the story started: the first  Top Gear  special that saw them rally across Africa. That was in 2007, and it served as a precursor to the globetrotting ambitions of  The Grand Tour . “Zimbabwe has provided the perfect backdrop for our final motoring adventure,” Clarkson puts it, simply.

As the premises of their specials go, it’s a bit of a fudge. Cars they’ve “always wanted”, luxury hotels and a slow, meandering 600-mile journey across central Africa. The lack of structural urgency allows the finale to wheel out some old classics: a pontoon crossing of the world’s largest reservoir, a Frankensteined train sequence, and about half a dozen breakdowns. After all, half the joy of  The Grand Tour  has been watching the suspension on classic cars take a battering on the potholes and dirt tracks of the world. “There is a god,” Clarkson muses, as they reach something more discernible as “road”. “And God has provided tarmac.”

The absence of too many shenanigans (though the runtime is two hours and 10 minutes, it feels more compact than recent  TGT  specials) opens up plenty of time for sentimentality. Musing on his arrival at  Top Gear  decades ago, Hammond confesses that he “never dreamed it would grow into a career and life-defining adventure”. But unlike the group’s departure from the Beeb in 2015 – where the gossip columns were filled with speculation about who might pick up their contracts after the infamous “fracas” – this feels like a genuine closing of a chapter. Dire Straits’ “Brothers in Arms” soundtracks the final moments, where the hosts stumble up to a baobab tree they had visited 17 years earlier. Archive footage shows them in contrast – these always prematurely middle-aged men are now well-seasoned.

What remains is the question of  The Grand Tour ’s legacy. In a sea of generic celebrity travelogue shows, it was something distinct. Cars offered an opportunity for the show to shed light on capitalism’s colonialism of the 20th and 21st centuries. The empire of globalised consumerism, lit up in the headlights of an Opel Kadett. At times,  The Grand Tour  has been a bit incurious about the places it’s visited, transporting European and American cars to Africa or Asia or South America, and then gawping at the vistas without engaging with the local motoring culture. It feels like a missed opportunity to gild the show with some genuine anthropology, some real history. Instead, viewers are offered tongue-in-cheek aphorisms (like “If you absolutely must do African exploration, you absolutely must have a Lancia”) that say more about the presenters than the setting.

But, of course, the show is really about Clarkson, May and Hammond. The beauty of the landscape – cruising down a jacaranda-lined avenue in Harare, or emerging like Lawrence of Arabia through the haze of the salt flats – is secondary to the British (and, indeed, the international) public’s relationship with three oil-soaked ambassadors for the left-hand side. One for the Road might not have high drama or daredevil action, but it has plenty of the charismatic camaraderie that has turned this unlikely trio into televisual royalty.

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• Cast & crew

Past v Future

• Episode aired Feb 3, 2017

For the final show of the season, the Grand Tour tent arrives in Dubai from where Jeremy Clarkson and James May introduce a battle between their own, personal cars. Jeremy champions the past... Read all For the final show of the season, the Grand Tour tent arrives in Dubai from where Jeremy Clarkson and James May introduce a battle between their own, personal cars. Jeremy champions the past with his Volkswagen Golf GTI while James makes a case for the future with his electricall... Read all For the final show of the season, the Grand Tour tent arrives in Dubai from where Jeremy Clarkson and James May introduce a battle between their own, personal cars. Jeremy champions the past with his Volkswagen Golf GTI while James makes a case for the future with his electrically powered BMW i3. Meanwhile, Richard Hammond is in France learning how to drift a car like... Read all

• Phil Churchward
• Kit Lynch Robinson
• Gavin Whitehead
• Jeremy Clarkson
• Richard Hammond

Top cast 12

• Self - Presenter

• Self - The American
• (credit only)

• Self - Singer

• Self - Legendary Guitarist
• Self - Winching Driver

• Self - Special Guest
• Self - Drifting Instructor
• Self - Drifter
• Self - Drifting Competitor
• All cast & crew
• Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

Did you know

• Trivia Michelin's top secret test track is located at Centre de Technologie de Ladoux, Rue Orange, 63118, Cébazat, France. But don't tell anyone.
• Connections References Monty Python's Flying Circus: Dennis Moore (1973)
• Soundtracks Memories (uncredited) Performed by Clinic

User reviews

• February 3, 2017 (United States)
• W. Chump & sons
• Amazon Studios
• Expectation Entertainment
• See more company credits at IMDbPro

Technical specs

• Runtime 1 hour 1 minute
• Dolby Digital

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