The Grand Tour

The Grand Tour Episode 2: Operation Desert Stumble through Amazon X-Ray Trivia

The Grand Tour: Operation Desert Stumble. The mighty Aston Martin Vulcan, explosions, helicopters, guns and a gorgeous Audi. Episode 2 sure did pack a punch of entertainment. Lets learn a bit more with some General Trivia provided by Amazon X-Ray.

What is General Trivia and where can you find it?

For those of you who watch The Grand Tour on the television, (like myself), Xbox or other means other than computer, (or I’ve heard tablets as well), you may have missed out on Amazon’s “X-Ray.” X-Ray provides General Trivia facts about the cars, track, places, crew and all sorts of things about The Grand Tour and everything involved, so for those that missed it here is X-Ray General Trivia for Episode 2.

Scene 1:  Intro

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Here we see their new intro. Not sure if they’ll be using this segment on the rest of the episodes but it sure is pretty cool.

General Trivia  Starts at 0:00:04

Jeremy Clarkson: Writer, broadcaster, owns over two pairs of shoes.

 Scene 2: Intro

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Just some sweet lifted trucks making the trip out to the big mobile tent. I’m curious if they’re going to use these trucks in a future bit…

General Trivia  Starts at 0:00:24

Richard Hammond: Writer, broadcaster, hat enthusiast.

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Scene 2: Intro….still

03As you can see we are still in the intro shots of the gorgeous area they filmed in.

General Trivia  Starts at 0:00:44

James May: Writer, broadcaster, doesn’t trust electricity

Scene 3: The Audience

04As it states in the General Trivia, this scene was the very first in tent filming for The Grand Tour.

General Trivia  Starts at 0:00:56

For complicated logistical reasons, this is the second show in the season but the first studio segment to be recorded. The Grand Tour chose to kick of in South Africa because the presenters had been here before and knew that the audiences are always super-enthusiastic, as you can here.

 

Scene 4: The Cradle

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Jeremy explains to us that at that very same spot is where Humans were separated from Apes. Well at least some have, according to hints from Richard and Hammond…Poor picked on Jeremy.

General Trivia  Starts at 0:01:53

True fact: The Cradle of Humankind is not a real cradle.

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Scene 5: The Mighty Vulcan

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Here we are introduced to absolutely stunning Aston Martin Vulcan. Jeremy shows us the ins and outs including how to stall it out.

General Trivia  Starts at 0:06:24

Aston Martin Vulcan has a 7-litre V12 engine with 820 horsepower, 0-62 in 2.9 seconds, and a top speed of 208mph (with rear wing).

Scene 5: Getting old is hard…

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In this moment we witness what it’s like to be…old, as Jeremy attacks the process of trying to get into the Vulcan. But we didn’t see anything cause it was “edited out”.

General Trivia  Starts at 0:07:16

If you ever wonder whether Jeremy is pretending to be an arthritic elephant, please remember that he is quite old, he has been in several deliberate accidents, and he thinks reading a newspaper is exercise.

Scene 5: More Vulcan

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After getting in and not stalling it, Jeremy finally got to put the Vulcan around the track a few times. Pit stop then more track time!

General Trivia  Starts at 0:11:56

Yes, the Vulcan has built in air jacks, just like a racing car. Nice.

 

Scene 5: More Track Time With the Vulcan

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After 4-5 hours of track time, Jeremy is starting to truly understand the machine the Vulcan really is. He starts to “trust” it and really starts pushing it the way it was built for.

General Trivia  Starts at 0:12:42

In case you were wondering, one of these tracks tests typically takes a whole day to film, ,plus another few hours in the studio to get all of the arty shots with the flames and stuff.

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Scene 5: The Vulcan track test concludes

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To sum up what the Vulcan really is…well, “It’s old time Rock N’ Roll” – Jeremy

General Trivia  Starts at 0:14:00

If you’d like a Vulcan, they only made 24 and they’re all sold. Sorry.

Scene 7: The American is back

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It is now The American’s turn to put the Vulcan around the track. Will this timed lap make this Aston the top on the leader-board?

General Trivia  Starts at 0:15:21

The American: Racer, hustler, all his jackets have designs on them.

Scene 8: The Double-O 1

11

The boys have a discussion about the crazy aerodynamic Aston 001. This amazing machine is from Red Bull’s F1 design genius Adrian Newey.

General Trivia  Starts at 0:18:23

The Aston 001 is being engineered by Red Bull F1 design genius Adrian Newey. He went to the same school as Jeremy, but he probably paid more attention in science classes.

Scene 8: The Chiron

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A discussion on the successor to the mind blowing Bugatti Veyron. This quad turbo W16 monster produces 1500 horsepower and inhales 13,000 gallons of air every minute….

General Trivia  Starts at 0:20:12

The Chiron is named after Louis Chiron, a driver from Monaco who raced for Bugatti in the 1930s.

Scene 8: The Bike Mine

bm

This little device can protect your bicycle or really any personal device you store outside, garage or shed. Just don’t attach it to your children, or any living being for that matter

General Trivia  Starts at 0:24:47

The Bike Mine is a real thing. It was on Kickstarter but the project was withdrawn in June 2016.

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Scene 9: KASOTC

kas

 An overview of what the boys are going to have to do to complete this challenge.

General Trivia  Starts at 0:26:25

The full name of this facility is the King Abdullah II Special Operations Training Center or KASOTC for short.

Scene 9: Jeremy Can’t Shoot an Automatic Rifle

hurt

Jeremy discovers that being a left-handed shooter is painful while shooting a right-handed automatic rifle. But hey, he took it like a champ.

General Trivia  Starts at 0:27:40

The motto of this facility is “Where Advanced Training Meets Advanced Technology”. For today only this was temporarily altered to add the words, “meets total morons”.

Scene 9: Mission Briefing

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The boys get dressed in their new camos, receive news that upon a death during their mission, they will have to start over and discuss Tom Cruise movies.

General Trivia  Starts at 0:28:36

The Tom Cruise film Jeremy is talking about is Edge of Tomorrow.

Scene 9: The Mission Begins

heli

Here they go over their plan as they are flown in to the drop point. Also who gets to go first.

General Trivia  Starts at 0:28:57

Heli-nerds will spot that this is a Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk.

Scene 9: Jeremy Loses His Pants….Yikes

no-pants

We watch as the brave Mr. Clarkson lowers himself out of the Heli, to their drop point. He performs the “cool” act of losing his pants on the way down.

General Trivia  Starts at 0:30:40

Jeremy insisted that the SAS often let their trousers fall down when dropping from a helicopter because it looks so cool.

Scene 9: Interesting Info on Helicopters

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Here we learn some interesting info from none other than helicopter pilot Richard Hammond…Helicopters CAN land. Also they continue their mission.

General Trivia  Starts at 0:31:07

Richard has a helicopter pilot’s license so he knows what he’s talking about.

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Scene 9: Stealing a Renault

ren

In this scene we watch James get shot and killed, many times, in multiple attempts to get to a Renaut, (aka Dacia Duster).

General Trivia  Starts at 0:35:05

Ultra nerds will notice that the ‘Renault’ is in fact a Dacia Duster. But it’s badged as a Renault in Jordan.

Scene 9: How to Distract a Sniper

15

Richard and Jeremy show us how to properly distract a sniper. Well, maybe not. James is just too much fun of a target I guess.

General Trivia  Starts at 0:36:30

The F&M on the hampers stands for Fortnum & Masson, a shop in London that sells nice food in wicker boxes.

Scene 9: Jeremy Shoots a Sniper

1

Jeremy demonstrates how deadly accurate he is as he eliminates a sniper using a hand gun..Next 007? Maybe, just maybe…

General Trivia  Starts at 0:37:32

Movie reference: Jeremy’s line is from Scarface.

Scene 9: The Audi

s8

After killing the sniper, they discover a truck and an Audi in a garage just behind them. Perfect getaway car? I’d think so.

General Trivia  Starts at o:38:08

Audi S8 Plus has a 4-litre twin turbo V8 engine with 597 horsepower, 0-62 in 3.8 seconds, and a top speed of 155mph (limited).

Scene 11: Spinning

spin

In this new bit called “Making James May do Something He Doesn’t Want to do”, Jeremy and Richard have James go to a “spinning” event.

General Trivia  Starts at 0:41:30

Spinning started in the 1980s and originally took place at funerals to honour the dead.

Scene 11: More Spinning

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Really cool piece on the events of spinning. A popular event in South Africa.

General Trivia  Starts at 0:43:48

You might notice that the car of choice for spinning is the BMW 325i of the shape Germ-o-car nerds call the E30.

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Scene 12: James Isn’t Happy

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Well, long story short…James didn’t enjoy spinning one bit. Now lets move on to “Celebrity Brain Crash”!!! This weeks guest? Charlize Theron!

General Trivia  Starts at 0:44:41

When James met up with the rest of the team after filming this, he STANK of tyre smoke. And grumpiness.

Scene 13: Next Chapter in the Mission

song10

Now we get back to the mission. It is now time to storm the plane and rescue the hostage. Will they succeed?

General Trivia  Starts at 0:46:47

The presenters’ getaway car is the Audi S8 Plus. The Plus bit means an extra 80-odd horsepower. Which is handy.

Scene 13: The Rescue

plane

Despite their best efforts at being stealthy, the trio needs a few tries to rescue the hostage and might need a pardon on all the other passengers involved in accidental shootings.

General Trivia  Starts at 0:47:09

Aero-geeks (eg James) will spot that this is an old Airbus A300.

Scene 13: The Distraction

s81

Jeremy does what Jeremy does best. Puts his foot down on the go pedal and causes a distraction so that James and Richard can finally get to the hostage.

General Trivia Starts at 0:48:33

The Audi S8 is four wheel drive. Not very good for drifting, sadly.

Scene 13: The conclusion!

the-grand-tour-episode-2-reaching-the-finish-line

After much death, gun shooting, retrying, car chases and all sorts of intense action they make it to the end. But at what cost?

General Trivia  Starts at 0:52:42

Weapons used in this film include SIG Sauer P226, G&P MK18 Mod 0, M4 carbine and FN Minimi.

And there you have it folks. All of the behind the scene info on Episode 2.

Now, that you have the answers, how well, do you think you’re going to do with our quiz?

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