The Grand Tour boys are back filming in far-flung destinations as series five kicks off with a chaos-fuelled special episode — The Grand Tour Presents: A Scandi Flick — which is set in Scandinavia’s icy wilderness.
The Grand Tour Presents: A Scandi Flick begins in the Lofoten Islands in northern Norway, where Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May set off on their mission to drive their pick of rally cars through Sweden and onto Finland, without ever dropping below the Arctic Circle.
Their stunning road trip takes in frozen lake racetracks and Cold War submarine bases, with plenty of pranks along the way that leave the trio on thin ice!
Here, Richard Hammond tells us everything we need to know about The Grand Tour Presents: A Scandi Flick…
Release date of The Grand Tour Presents: A Scandi Flick
The Grand Tour Presents: A Scandi Flick is available from Friday 16 September on Prime Video.
What happens in The Grand Tour Presents: A Scandi Flick?
After two specials filmed during lockdown, Carnage a Trois and Lochdown (both aired last year), the trio is all revved up to be back touring foreign climes. Tasked with driving through what’s described as ‘Europe’s last great wilderness’, Clarkson and co take viewers on a front-seat tour of spectacular snowscapes in Norway, Sweden and Finland.
There are challenges along the way, including pulling makeshift houses across Finland to the Russian border and speeding through ominous tunnels in an old Cold War submarine base.
"It felt great to be allowed back out into the world, but that’s not to play down the specials we shot in lockdown. We were really pleased with them," Richard tells us via video link. "They reminded us that it’s not all about the ambitious scale of a trip; it can be more about how we three get along and our passion for cars.
"But we do explore gorgeous terrain here," says Richard. "It’s described as 'Europe’s last great wilderness', and when the weather permitted, it was spectacularly beautiful. But it gradually became gritty and forbidding."
What cars will we see in The Grand Tour Presents: A Scandi Flick?
Richard tells us: "We figured rally-bred cars would give us the potential to cross rugged terrain, plus they're really exciting. I went for the Subaru Impreza because it was literally born out of rallying. James went for the Mitsubishi Evo, which has a slightly nerdier element.
"Jeremy, however, chose an Audi RS4 because Audi also made a rally car, but it wasn't that one," Richard continues. "It was more powerful than the others, though, so that made him happy. It's usually one rule for him and one for everyone else, but we’ve learned to live with that."
What else happens in The Grand Tour Presents: A Scandi Flick?
Despite often-perilous weather and terrain, as always, the petrolhead pals’ pranks and stunts cause the most chaos. Look out for Richard Hammond hurtling down a ski slope in a homemade house, Jeremy setting fire to his own car and scenes of skiers being towed across a frozen lake at high speeds.
But when James May dramatically crashes in a tunnel and is carted off to hospital, will it cut his trip short?
"I heard a boom from the other end of the tunnel and feared James’s arms, legs and head might have come off because he's not that well strapped together at his age," Richard reveals. "But the motto is, 'We're always prepared to leave a man in the field, if necessary'.
"We were concerned, of course, but on one hand you've got damage to a classic example of a spectacular breed of car, developed and honed over many years," Richard continues. "On the other, you've got possible damage to a gangly, blond-haired old man."
Is there a trailer?
Yes, you can watch a trailer for The Grand Tour Presents: A Scandi Flick here. It’s hair-raising stuff!
What else is coming up in series five of The Grand Tour?
The boys have been spotted shooting in Europe but are keeping tight-lipped about details surrounding the next episode. Rumour has it they’ve filmed in Poland, Slovakia and Hungary. Can Hammond tell us more?
"No, I will be shot!" he laughs.
The Grand Tour Presents: A Scandi Flick is available from Friday, September 16 on Prime Video.
