Our Man in...Richard Hammond's Workshop

What Has The Grand Tour Trio Been Up To This Year – Reflecting on 2022

It’s been a long year for fans of The Grand Tour with only one episode of the show so far released to Prime Video. But while cars may not be taking up the lives of our hosts, Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, and James May, as much as they used to, they’ve got plenty of other projects going on that we’ve been enjoying.

This is a roundup of everything the boys have done in 2022 that you can watch now while we wait for the second season of Clarkson’s Farm and of course, The Grand Tour European Special.

The Grand Tour: A Scandi Flick

A Scandi Flick saw our famous trio head to Norway to test three of the greatest homologated rally cars in the world. Jeremy drove an Audi RS4, Richard a Subaru Impreza STI, and James a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo. It was a brilliant example of what the boys can do now they can get out of the country and acted as a tribute to the beauty of the amazing country.

Of course, it wouldn’t have been so amazing without James May’s constant crashing, with his first hit taking him to the hospital with a broken rib and whiplash. The car would have been written off if it wasn’t for the unlimited resources of Amazon behind the production. And this was after just the first crash.

The episode later saw James and his Evo fall into an icy lake, and even that didn’t kill the car as it battled its way to the end of the episode. It’s now become a fan favourite.

It’s also worth noting that these cars were returned to England, with Richard Hammond keeping his to modify in the future.

James May: Our Man In Italy

Our Man In Italy was May’s second series of the popular travel show. His first season saw him travel the length of Japan, but this follows him to Sicily and Italy, the famous home of fast cars, fashion, and incredible food.

The series, found on Prime Video, is a documentary that rides on May’s brilliant use of humour and knowledge. He visits a number of iconic locations and landmarks, including the Colosseum in Rome, the Leaning Tower of Pisa, and the Ferrari factory in Maranello. Along the way, May also meets with a variety of local experts and personalities who provide insight into the country’s rich history and traditions.

It’s no surprise that the series has been confirmed for a third series in the United States after a similar trip was postponed during the pandemic.

Best episode? Well, if you’re into cars – and you’re on this site so you likely are – you’ll want to see James pilot the Ferrari Roma at Maranello. If not, then you’ll want to watch him try to remember his words as he takes part in a Dante’s Inferno theatre production.

Richard Hammond’s Workshop

The second series of Richard Hammond’s Workshop was far better than the first as he continues to create more diverse revenue streams for his tricky business.

The series follows him as he starts to get The Smallest Cog into racing, with them using an MGB GT to achieve this. They build it into a strong contender, but other projects soon start taking up their precious time and, as usual, they’re not only against the clock, but they’re also against the accountant who has strong words with Richard as he formulates more and more plans to keep the business afloat.

New TV Show Idea From Richard Hammond

The presenter used the DriveTribe YouTube channel to test the waters on a new show. Similar to Scrap Heap Challenge, he and his Small Cogs went up against their neighbours to create something recycled from two old scrap cars. The idea went down positively with those who watched it praising it.

One said: “I definitely want to see more of this. It reminded me a lot of Junkyard Wars and Scrap Heap challenge, which are still some of my favorite shows! This was so fun. I’d love to see challenges with the builds so there’s something at stake. Either way, I’d still watch even if it was just a bunch of nice people having fun building things.”

There hasn’t been an episode since, however, potentially down to the sheer investment needed for such a project.

There’s also plenty of content to watch on the DriveTribe channel, as presenter Mike Fernie firmly finds himself as the brilliant presenter of the channel.

What Next?

DriveTribe’s sister channel, What Next? also has plenty of content, with James May being much more active over here. You can usually find him doing something food related, often linking to his gin company James Gin, or his pub, The Royal Oak. Richard Hammond also frequents this channel more, but Jeremy has little input. To make up for a lack of Jeremy, Mike also spends a lot of time over here at What Next?, so there’s plenty to watch.

The Next Episode Of The Grand Tour

While we can’t see the fruits of their labour, Jeremy, Richard, and James did film the upcoming Grand Tour episode earlier this year. Their travels took them from Poland to Slovenia as they drove over 2,000kms across Europe in three strange but wonderful American cars.

Landing in Gdasnk, they were met by their cars: a Chevrolet SSR, a Crosley Convertible, and a Mitsuoka Le-Seyde which they took to Długia Street. \

This episode will see Richard Hammond crash yet again, and James May has more bad luck. It’s set to be a very, very good episode.

Got any ideas for anything else we should be watching from this year? Let me know in the comments!

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