James May has endorsed Prime Video’s new Grand Tour presenters—Francis Bourgeois plus Throttle House’s James Engelsman and Thomas Holland—and says he’ll “absolutely” watch. Here’s what he said, what the new series will cover, and why the line-up might win fans over.
Prime Video has confirmed a new three-person line-up for The Grand Tour, and May has made it clear he’s not only on board, he’s genuinely excited to watch.
James May backs the new Grand Tour hosts
The original trio’s run ended with the 2024 finale One For The Road, which sent Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May back to Africa, travelling across Zimbabwe and Botswana and revisiting the location of their 2007 Top Gear special.
Now, Prime Video is moving forward with a new six-part series led by Francis Bourgeois, plus James Engelsman and Thomas Holland from the YouTube car channel Throttle House, which has more than 3.35 million subscribers.
The premise is very much in the spirit of what fans want from the badge: big journeys, difficult terrain, and a mix of vehicles. Producers are promising “adventure, horsepower and humour”, with the new trio tackling the Angolan desert in track cars, exploring Malaysia’s car culture, then heading to California to test performance cars.
‘Oh god, yes’: May’s reaction is the most reassuring sign yet
May’s comments land differently now that the hosts are confirmed. He framed the whole thing as an inevitable generational change, telling Oxford Mail: “I don’t quite know how you do it, but it [Top Gear] needs some young people with a young attitude, and this is going to happen with The Grand Tour eventually.”
He also set expectations properly, adding: “It’ll be something completely different from what we did. I don’t even know if it’ll be called the same thing, but they will do a new show with new people who are younger than us and have a more contemporary take on what cars are actually about.”
And when asked if he’d actually watch it, May didn’t hesitate. James May said: “Oh god, yes. Put it on, yeah.
“I’m going to watch a car show where I don’t know what happened. Yeah. It’s going to be fantastic.”
That’s not a polite, PR-friendly shrug. That’s May, the man who spent years perfecting the art of scepticism, essentially telling fans to give it a chance.
Why this new line-up could work for The Grand Tour fans
Let’s be honest, nobody is replacing Clarkson, Hammond and May. What they can do is build a new chemistry around a familiar format. Bourgeois is best known as a trainspotting social media star with almost six million followers, but he is also a qualified mechanical engineer with Rolls-Royce experience. That mix of enthusiasm and actual engineering credibility could be a surprisingly strong anchor.
Bourgeois himself seems aware of the pressure, saying: “The saying ‘big shoes to fill’ springs to mind.
“Well, in this case it’ll be like Mo Farah running in size 14 wellies — it’ll be a little awkward at first, perhaps blister-inducing, but will overall be an interesting watch.”
Pair that with Throttle House, a duo that lives and breathes modern performance cars, and you can see the shape of the new show: less nostalgia, more contemporary car culture, and hopefully the same willingness to do something stupid for a good story.
Fast Facts & Figures
- Prime Video is available in over 240 countries and territories worldwide.
- Throttle House has over 3.35 million YouTube subscribers.
- The Grand Tour’s final Clarkson-Hammond-May special was titled “One For The Road”.
- Top Gear’s Botswana Special originally aired in 2007.
- The Grand Tour premiered on Amazon Prime Video in 2016.
- Francis Bourgeois has nearly six million followers across social media.
- The original Grand Tour trio produced four series plus multiple feature-length specials.
The real test: Can The Grand Tour evolve without losing its soul?
The key is not whether it feels like the old days. It won’t. The key is whether it still feels like an event, a proper motoring adventure with jokes that land because the presenters genuinely get on, and because the cars are part of the plot, not just product placement.
The Grand Tour is due back on Prime Video later this year, launching in more than 240 countries. And if James May is this keen to watch it not knowing what happens, maybe we should be too.
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