As you may remember from our previous coverage of Clarkson, Hammond and May in the post-Top Gear era, the boys had some challenges and reviews recorded months before the fracas scandal happened and Jeremy got the boot.
That material was to represent the last three episodes of Top Gear Series 22. However, only two episodes should be aired in the near future according to insider information presented by recent reports by the British media. But then again, if the trailer's footnote is to be believed, we should be also expecting the available footage compressed into a single episode that's longer than one hour... or something like that.
With Jeremy Clarkson ousted from everything remotely related to Top Gear, Richard Hammond and James May were left to film the studio sequences for the remaining episodes. As the boys are reportedly close to signing a deal with Netflix for a car show purportedly dubbed "House of Cars," these two episodes (or single episode) will be our last taste of the Top Gear we know and love. Somebody's cutting onions, right?
Cheap SUVs, lots of mud, caravans and two-seater convertibles from days long gone are what you should expect from the soon-to-be-aired episodes. Other than that, prepare for a Subaru WRX STi versus VW Golf R comparison, as well as Jeremy reviewing a handful of luxury sedans on the Top Gear test track.
Editor's note: is it me or did the BBC employee that made the trailer below choose "Summertime Blues" by The Who as the soundtrack? As far as I know, Jeremy Clarkson is a huge fan of The Who's "Who's Next?" album from 1971, having vocalist Roger Daltrey as the Star in a Reasonably Priced Car in the past.
UPDATE: here's a statement from topgear.com/uk and some photographs from the set in the gallery:
"Good news! The BBC has today announced that Top Gear will return to UK telly screens soon, with an extended episode to wrap up Series 22.
Featuring a pair of previously unseen films shot for the most recent series, plus studio links from Richard and James, the one-off will air on BBC Two on a date soon to be confirmed.
The first film sees Jeremy, Richard and James living the lifestyle of traditional classic car buffs, acquiring a Fiat 124 Spyder, Peugeot 304 Cabriolet and MGB GT before setting off an adventure incorporating brown beer, breakdowns (inevitably) and attending a car show where everything goes wrong.
If you're thinking ‘unlikely to end well', you're not alone. Have a flick through the pictures above for a flavour of what's in store.
In the second film, our intrepid trio attempt to become ‘lifestyle leisure enthusiasts' with the help of some very ratty old 4x4s.
Armed with a budget of just £250, the boys each purchase a high-mileage, low-quality SUV - Clarkson a Vauxhall Frontera, Hammond a Jeep Cherokee and May a Mitsubishi Shogun Pinin - before embarking on a series of gruelling challenges, including a battle with the Stig's Leisure Activity Cousin, which climaxes with a race that has a terrifying penalty for the person who loses."
UPDATE: it's official. The last Top Gear episode with Jeremy Clarkon as a presenter will air on June 28th.
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