grand tour review scandi flick

The Grand Tour: A Scandi Flick, review: oh no, they've tried to make it into a car show

May, Hammond and Clarkson go back to their roots and do some proper motoring journalism - but it's thrills and spills we're here for, lads

There’s a point early on in Grand Tour: A Scandi Flick (Prime Video) when Jeremy Clarkson says: "We haven’t done this for three years". By "this" he means a Grand Tour special, feature-length films that see Clarkson, James May and Richard Hammond go off on the kind of harum-scarum international cannonball run that made their names in their Top Gear days. 

Viewers loved the three-go-mad-abroad travelogue element – indeed, there came a point where the bickering, boondoggling and breaking things took over from the trio’s origins as motoring journalists. Hence the invention of The Grand Tour brand itself, where what they were driving was less important than who was driving it, and where they were driving to.

A Scandi Flick looks to redress that – it’s as much a paean to great 1980s rally cars (the Scandinavian Flick was the steering move du jour) as it is the superannuated lads’ panto that has made Clarkson and co very wealthy. The intention is to re-establish the cars as the stars, and for the petrolheads there is therefore plenty of unironic talk of induction air filter kits and anti-lag on the turbo. There are even some pictures of really big tools, and no one makes a pun.

There is an argument, therefore, that when Clarkson says "We haven’t done this for three years," he should have said, "We haven’t done this for decades", because The Grand Tour long ago dispensed with any notion that it was a motoring show. The problem is that viewers really liked it as a big-budget Last of the Summer Wine, or liked it enough for Amazon to fund four previous films.

It means this fifth film finds itself marooned, trying to return to what we may assume is its heroes’ first love – cars – but unable to get there. The forced buffoonery that has become their stock in trade is by now obligatory – setting fire to things, trashing stuff, concocting madcap schemes that are intended to fail in ways hilarious to men three or more pints to the good. But if you really do want to know about what makes the Subaru Impreza a stone cold classic, or the Mitsubishi Evo a name to be whispered in hallowed tones on the garage forecourt, then the contrived jeopardy and laboured gags these Grand Tour films require is a distraction.

What’s particularly frustrating is that within the demolition derby there’s some very good scenes just waiting to be turned in to another, better film. When one of the trio has a serious crash it is properly shocking, and the responses of the presenters and the camera crew to something unscripted are, at last, genuine – and all the more powerful for it.

Likewise, the scenery as they tear through Norway, Sweden and Finland is monumental, and beautifully filmed, but it only makes the regression to the mean more irritating. Like the kind of hybrid SUV we know the GT boys hate, they’ve iterated their act in to something that is neither one thing nor t’other.

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Why The Grand Tour: A Scandi Flick Is The Trio’s Best Special Since Mongolia

The new Grand Tour special is possibly the best one yet, as the trio take three rally cars across the wilderness of Scandinavia

Ever since Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May move to Amazon and created The Grand Tour, they have kept up the tradition of epic specials such as the ones they did on Top Gear. There has been Seamen, where they took three epic boats across Asia. There were the two lockdown specials as well , keeping us entertained during the Covid-19 pandemic and as we came out of it. And of course, who can forget Mongolia where they built John , an epic off-roader.

That Mongolia special was perhaps the best of the lot, until however A Scandi Flick came to our screens . Launched recently, the special sees Hammond in a Subaru Impreza , May in a Mitsubishi Evo and Clarkson in an Audi RS4 , as they take their rally derived machines across the Scandinavian landscape including Sweden, Denmark and Finland. It's an epic road trip, with some brilliant scenery, great laughs and a heroic machine at the heart of it. This is perhaps the best Grand Tour special yet, and certainly one of the most enjoyable to sit down and watch.

The Story Of A Scandi Flick

If you don’t want the plot ruined, then look away now! But we are giving you a bit of an overview of the story. The trio start at the top of Norway, get their three cars on a football pitch and then set off. One of the first places they go to is an old submarine base from the Cold War, where they play a top speed test. This is where the Evo May brings gets its first big douse of damage, and is the crash May had that we had all heard about. It is a big one, but May does manage to climb out on his own with just broken ribs.

The Evo gets repaired, Hammond and Clarkson modify their cars and the trip continues. The trio later build their own small sheds to live in and tow behind their cars, although they don’t last that long. Near the end of the adventure, the Evo gets a dunking in an icy lake but incredibly, the car is brought back to life by May and the Grand Tour team and it is back in action before the end of the adventure.

RELATED: 5 Reasons Why We Love The Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VIII (5 Reasons Why We'd Rather Get The Subaru Impreza STi 22b)

What Makes The Special So Enjoyable

First of all, there are the cars. These three cars are some of the finest there is, and everyone loves a rally homologation special. True, Clarkson’s RS4 is not a true Quattro. But its DNA goes right back to that first Quattro, and it shows itself to be a truly brilliant car in the special. Fast everywhere and a hero for dragging the Evo out of the water later on. It’s a bit of a geek fest really, as we know the three presenters love their rally cars and rally specials.

Then there is the scenery. Every single country the trio visit offers snow capped majesty, with hills, forests, quaint towns and more. It’s a feast for the eyes, and we are jealous of everyone that is able to enjoy this special in glorious 4K resolution. The adventure itself isn’t the most grueling for the three, but sometimes it's nice to see them not get bogged down in swamps or on truly dangerous roads. Just three mates, in three very good cars, enjoying the scenery. When one of them isn’t crashing one of their cars anyway.

A Truly Enjoyable Scandinavian Trip

What else helps to make the trip so enjoyable to watch is the trio themselves. The three mates offer plenty of laughs throughout the adventure, and it feels more much honest and genuine than other Grand Tour specials have. Above all else, this is just very enjoyable and pleasant viewing. Perfect for a quiet evening in, perfect for a lunchtime bit of TV and just perfect to watch whenever you have the time. It's one of those classic specials that we could watch multiple times, like the Botswana and USA specials from the glory days of Top Gear.

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A Scandi Flick Is A Must Watch

If you love the trio and haven’t seen it yet, then you must go and watch it! Just for the Evo itself, which really becomes the hero of the trip and the car we all love and grow fond of. The best bit about it is, it's nearly two hours long! So to sum up, we have three great rally derived cars, a wonderful landscape, plenty of laughs and a truly epic adventure. This feels like a good old return to some of the classic Top Gear adventures, and with more trips from the trio no doubt on the way, we can’t wait for the next one.

Source: Amazon Prime

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A Review of the ‘The Grand Tour: A Scandi Flick’

A review of this film on ‘rally culture’ set against the backdrop of an Arctic road trip.

Gabriel Marinescu , Staff Reporter | December 28, 2022

Monicore / Pexels

Here is a seaside image of Lofoten Norway, the archipelago where the Grand Tour began their journey heading for Finland.

Who would have thought that The Arctic Circle, Europe’s last great wilderness , would be conquered by three Brits in rally cars? Set to a road trip, The Grand Tour returns in their special The Grand Tour: A Scandi Flick , and they are back better than ever. They experience danger and surprises as they venture from Norway in the Lofoten Islands to Ivalo airport in Finland near the Russian border. Given the harsh conditions of Scandinavia, they risk crashes and accidents. With only six days to travel 600 miles, the trio, James May, Jeremey Clarkson, and Richard Hammond, embark on this journey, regardless of the risk. Presenting comedy at its highest quality from the moment the special begins, while also paying homage to rallies in the early 2000s, this film is a love letter to rallying.

The Grand Tour is an Amazon Prime Original Series hosted by Jeremy Clarkson, James May, and Richard Hammond. The history between these three runs far greater than The Grand Tour; in 2002, they created car reviews, entertaining viewers with their exceptional sense of humor. In 2003, the trio went on to host Top Gear, an automobile show on the BBC. A decade later, in 2016, after a fallout between Jeremy Clarkson and a producer of Top Gear , The Grand Tour was eventually created. 

They continued the original format of car reviews and guest stars for the first three seasons but then announced they would end the show. Later, The Grand Tour announced that they would continue the show in a specials-like format, with the yearly or bi-yearly movie-length episode ‘A Scandi Flick’ as the first episode of season 5 . Their dynamic rapport was possibly the most endearing aspect of the trio’s performance.The juxtaposition between adult conversation regarding the systems in the car, the modification of their vehicles, and the history behind motorsport is contrasted with their childlike behavior. The pranks they pull on one another, the situations they find themselves in, and the stupid modifications they make to their cars add to the humor, because they choose to use their knowledge to entertain the audience.  

The Grand Tour has always been focused on cars, and on the culture behind motorsports. They have used the new format to show the history and love for cars in a more entertaining way than in a traditional studio audience network show. They have shown their passion for cars by going out, and driving them, putting them to the test and pushing them to their limits with different challenges and types of motor sporting events. There is always a theme or message to an episode, but in the end, they are three friends bonding over the journey they made in these cars. The show embodies the idea that it is not the destination but the journey. 

Rallying is the central theme around “A Scandi Flick” which ties together every aspect of the special. Rallying is a specific kind of motocross event typically completed on dirt roads with hills and jumps, where racers either compete against a clock or in a more traditional head-to-head competition. Rallying and rallycross can exist in any environment, from roads covered in snow, dirt, or even sand. Snow rallying was how they chose to test the cars since it is especially popular in Scandinavia. Snow rallying allows for the use of the natural Scandinavian terrain and constant winter environment, which is perfect for pushing cars to their limits. The title of the special is even named after a common rally move: ‘Scandinavian Flick.’ A ‘Scandinavian Flick’ is when a driver, typically on a snow track, purposely oversteers to slide around the outside of a turn and line up to the exit of the turn while maintaining momentum.

It is the cars that make rallying heritage so special. The cars are such a big part of the rallying community because the cars make or break the competition and are built to handle even the toughest of conditions. As Hammond said in the film, “It’s not a car that you crash or ding in the usual way. It’s a car that gets injured ‘cause there’s so much passion wrapped up in it from a lot of people.” Rallying is often hectic, so cars are built to withstand the unusual strain and endure what normal stock cars cannot. According to the FIA World Rally Championship regulations World Rally Championship, Rally 1 uses a 1.6T Engine, meaning that rally cars are characterized by their small engine capacity but high speeds, as well as their stock build. These regulations are what define rally and what makes rally unique, as not any car can be fit to be a rally car. You cannot take a standard factory-line car and make it work for rally; it has to be built for rally and be able to put up with tremendous amounts of force upon the car. To the viewers and drivers alike, these cars represent all the crashes, the suspension shocks, every hill jump, and obstacle climb. The cars represent how they are built for endurance and, by extension, the endurance of spirit. Each car means a different thing to different people, but they can all agree that rally cars represent the best possibility of what cars can be. 

The Subaru Impreza is the rally champion, with 47 world championship wins and a total of 212 versions available on the market. Subaru fans are divided on which version is the best, but Hammond believed his 2003 Subaru Impreza WRX Sti limited edition was the best Impreza to choose from. 

The Evo (short for Evolution), with 27 championship wins and ten versions released, is the other head honcho in the rally scene. Despite fewer releases than the Impreza, it has just as much of a loyal fan base. It has a community just as large as the Impreza has, and oftentimes, the Evo and Impreza are seen as rivals. James was content with his Evo XIII GSR and had full faith in the car and its rallying capabilities. 

However, for those who are not familiar with the rallying scene, Clarkson made a bold choice with his Audi. Instead of taking an Audi Quattro, an iconic rallying symbol, he instead claims  RS4 is the heir to the Quattro since it is a fast and powerful track car. However, because of the RS4’s large engine and wide body frame, it cannot be called a rally car. Despite the lack of a real Quattro, it is more than made up by Clarkson’s humor and charisma as he depends on his Audi throughout the special, which makes up for his straying from the task.

Their task is simple, to take their cars and cross Europe’s last great wilderness in six days. In those six days, they must cross more than 600 miles to the Finnish border. Most importantly, they must find out whose car is the best rally car there is. 

(Spoiler Warning Ahead) 

This being said, the movie itself was outstanding. The trio is back and re-energized after their hiatus. With the last two specials having been released during the COVID-19 pandemic, Lockdown and Carnage A Trois , being restricted in where they could go also seemingly limited the comedy. However, A Scandi Flick is a return to greatness for the Grand Tour, delivering 1 hour and 39 minutes of laughs. I also found it incredibly informative, as it taught me the real meaning of motorsport and the heritage behind the cars that I have always liked. The only pause in comedic relief was the collective concern for James May during his crash at the twenty-minute mark. Despite the crash being widely known prior to the release of the film, we were so surprised how early it was, fearing that any serious injuries might impair him or possibly remove him from the special. Thankfully, his injuries were minor, and the show went on. His journey would instead become a message of triumph for the rest of the runtime. 

The redemption and survival of James May and his Evo are at the centerpiece of the special. May crashed his Evo into a wall after taking a turn too quickly, breaking a rib and totaling the car. He completely destroyed it during the crash but made a surprising effort to resurrect the Evo and bring it to Sweden. Later, while falling through a frozen lake in Finland, he got the Evo working again. That Evo became a symbol of the power of old-school rally cars and the power of the Evo. May’s Evo survived to work for the reunion they had months later despite being bodied twice and missing part of its chassis. For a comedy-based car show, the idea of perseverance would shine through special, as it not only embodies the struggle that the Evo went through, but also the spirit of rallying itself. These cars crumple and are destroyed but they always persevere. They run even with the frame and doors fallen off because of the determination of spirit. We connect to rally racing because it reflects the human condition; life is not paved and easy but rough with many ups and downs. Much like these cars, the human spirit takes every beating and still makes it to the finish line because that’s what humanity stands for. 

From the discovery of the Dutch-Norwegian War to the ice-related pranks, and the extreme modifications to their cars like Clarkson’s fire exhaust, the bar is set high for their cars. One memorable event is in Skijoring, when skiers are pulled behind cars to race. We can see the passion return in the trio, and in my opinion, this is the best part of the special, ever since the series changed format to these full-length specials in 2019. On-par specials like Seamen and A Massive Hunt were fueled by their ambition which gets them into all sorts of trouble. This special surpasses those two in not only humor but as well as in subject. Seamen was a journey to Vietnam in boats and A Massive Hunt was a trip across Madagascar in modified cars. Both were entertaining to watch, but A Scandi Flick clearly had a lot more love behind it. In their distinct style and sense of humor, the Grand Tour showed the power and love that the motoring community has for rallying. This proves the power of rally cars and the passion which comes when you drive these cars. As well as just providing us with their antics, the visualization of them surviving the night in a Sami museum exhibit, Clarkson burning his car in order to melt the ice, and Hammond barreling down the ski slope in his shack, A Scandi Flick provides images that still remain in my memory weeks after I watched it. 

Its visual imagery of the Arctic Circle also does wonders, creating a sense of sublimity when the men are surrounded by the vastness of nature. The beautiful sights of Norway, Sweden, and Finland added to the viewing experience, by showing us the true beauty of “Europe’s Last Great Wilderness.” The B-roll footage of the black forest, contrasted with the stark white snow, provided a nice sense of calm to the visual intensity of the races. The peace of the snow falling was a breath of fresh air against the constant roaring engines of the cars. The visual imagery reinforces the idea of Europe’s Last Great Wilderness due to the vastness of nature depicted. In these moments, we see how small we are in respect to nature, as the cars are mere blips on the screen, while the forests, mountains, and frozen lakes encompass everything, with only a mere road cutting through nature. Nature is ever present in the special because of its meaning; the rally was meant to overcome nature’s obstacles. With every leg of the journey, nature became more unruly, and the closer they got to the finish, the harder it was to travel. From the moment they entered Finland, the final leg of the journey, they had experienced the power of nature at its fullest. From maneuvering between trees in the forests or having to cut across frozen lakes, mature checked the power of the rally cars. The stunning visuals gave us an understanding of what they really were up against in the Arctic.  

When the episode premiered in September 2022, it was refreshing to see the return of the Grand Tour that I’ve loved watching for the last six years. Due to the extensive history behind both rallying and the trio making the movie, so much depth, passion, and love are added to this film. Even if you don’t like cars, you still can’t help but laugh and find yourself enjoying their childlike antics and pranks. If you have Prime Video and are looking for a laugh-filled hour and forty minutes, then I would recommend “ The Grand Tour: A Scandi Flick.’

As Richard Hammond said in the film, “It’s not a car that you crash or ding in the usual way. It’s a car that gets injured ‘cause there’s so much passion wrapped up in it from a lot of people.”

• A Scandi Flick
• Arctic Circle
• Europe’s Last Great Wilderness
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• The Grand Tour

Gabriel Marinescu is the Arts and Entertainment editor for ‘The Science Survey.' He enjoys the fact that journalism allows you to convey the facts in...

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REVIEW: ‘The Grand Tour: A Scandi Flick’ is Back to Business

The Grand Tour Presents: A Scandi Flick is a comedy documentary on Amazon Prime. The series follows presenters Jeremy Clarkson , Richard Hammond , and James May on a brand new special. On their first road trip abroad since the Covid Pandemic, the presenters take three rally cars on an adventure across the top of Scandinavia.

This documentary is a return to regular programming for the motoring show as it is freed from lockdown restrictions, allowing them to plunge forth into a new, globetrotting grand tour. That adds a grandiosity to this special already, paired with the scale of their mission that is really exciting. The stark, white wilderness of Norway, Sweden and Finland bring with it a sense of peril. The series also returns to its feature-length runtime. The pacing was clearly intended to keep moving forwards but unplanned events lead to it slowing down. It is many of these moments that provide this special with its power. It provides the show with a storyline of its own that clearly had not been foreseen when the crew set off. The storylines that were being generated are given more weight due to these moments. Annoyingly, some events may have been spoiled due to the press releasing information before the release date, but it also raises anticipation. Whether aware of it or not, these moments are still shocking and dramatic. 

What has also returned is the iconic chemistry between Clarkson, Hammond, and May. The presenters have a relationship that has been built over many, many years, and it is sincere in all its permutations. When pranking each other or enacting revenge for a previous prank, the hatred and the despair are real. The same can be said when they enjoy each other’s company. But when one of the men is in trouble, that concern and fright are palpable. It’s an infectious and endearing atmosphere. Not every joke made lands, with some either falling short or some just not being delivered brilliantly. Likewise, some of the pranks are great, but the scene about them is too long.

There is also a profound knowledge of cars and their history, brilliant when investigating what makes them great. The Grand Tour has long been able to create characters out of the machines the presenters drive, and this rally car special, and that resurfaces above the frozen lakes. It initially seems difficult to find that heart, with the Mitsubishi Evo and Subaru Impreza being more like mechanical icons than rugged companions. But through accidental mishaps, a soul is forged within the metal. For those that are motorheads, the choices may be considered dull, but it is noted very early on that the cars have been selected for a reason. It is often that the initial conception of the car set at the beginning of the story is either maintained and proven right by their performance as the show progresses, or it is flipped, and the presenters are made to eat their words. And the three cars in this special appear to all travel along that spectrum.

Another part of The Grand Tour: A Scandi Flick that is incredible is the visuals. It is jaw-dropping in its photography, using ultra high definition cameras to really showcase the wilderness at its most brutal. Large aspect ratios fill the screen with as much of the scene as possible, making the show as large and inclusive as it can. The editing can be both dramatic and hilarious depending on the desired effect. In races or action scenes the experience shines through, blowing any competition out of the water. The colours are crisp and defined, although not needed as much in this special due to the vast amount of white. The wide camera angles help develop another character; the landscape. The jaw-dropping beauty is merged with the unforgiving harshness is encapsulated perfectly. It gives each special individuality and a distinction.

The Grand Tour: A Scandi Flick is the team getting back to business. These epic adventures through some of the most grueling and captivating places on Earth had been curtailed due to travel being limited. And whilst they did what they could with some fun specials, The Grand Tour’s new remit was deflated. But here it is reinvigorated. This is what the series is best at, exploring magnificent territory in amazing cars. It may be considered formulaic but there is something deeply absorbing about the show. There have been a few times where the antics that the cast get up make them seem invincible. This special grounds them and reminds us that they are humans and are only milliseconds from disaster. 

The Grand Tour: A Scandi Flick is available only on Amazon Prime.

The Grand Tour: A Scandi Flick

• 8/10 Rating - 8/10

The Grand Tour: A Scandi Flick is the team getting back to business. These epic adventures through some of the most grueling and captivating places on Earth had been curtailed due to travel being limited. And whilst they did what they could with some fun specials, The Grand Tour’s new remit was deflated. But here it is reinvigorated.

William is a screenwriter with a love of comics and movies. Once referred to Wuthering Heights as "the one with the Rabbits."

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The Grand Tour: A Scandi Flick Review

The boys are back! Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May are back with The Grand Tour: A Scandi Flick for 2022.

I watched it last night and it was great.

Here’s everything you need to know without any (or many) spoilers.

The Grand Tour is now all about one-off specials. There was never any set date or set amount of features which would happen, but for the past few years we’ve got one feature length film from The Grand Tour each year (with 1 in lockdown too).

These have been released in or around December, so I was happy when I saw that this latest feature was being released on Amazon Video on 16th September.

This one is set above the arctic circle, beginning in Norway.

The task is simple: The lads have to get from one side of Norway through to the finishing point on the Russian border in Finland to catch their plane home.

Of course things are never that simple.

The show would not be complete without cars, and since Scandinavia is somewhat of a home to rallying, rally cars were the ones chosen for the job.

Richard Hammond drove a Subaru Impreza WRX STI , James May had a Mitsubishi Evo VIII and Jeremy Clarkson decided to choose an Audi RS4 claiming it was a rally car.

How was the feature?

It was great!

First of all the journey was pretty good. The scenery and going from one place to the next is always entertaining, as you’d expect. The backdrop of the wintery Scandinavia is so good to look at, and the weather provides plenty entertainment.

There’s also plenty of genuine funny moments. Richard Hammond trying to get up a mountain being one of them, and there are the traditional pranks between each other too.

And you have to have a bit of danger or an injury. It has that too, but not who or what you might expect.

It’s hard to write without adding in any spoilers, but it’s very much worth watching.

You can check out the trailer below, and watch this and the whole box set on Amazon Prime .

I’m already looking forward to what we’ll see next from The Grand Tour.

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About Michael

Michael Adams is the founder and editor of Michael 84, blogger from Newcastle, UK. Sharing men's fashion tips, style advice and lifestyle information for all guys.

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Lifestyle » The Grand Tour: A Scandi Flick Review

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The Grand Tour: A Scandi Flick

• Episode aired Sep 16, 2022

Jeremy, Richard, and James head to the Scandinavian Arctic Circle. Driving their favorite rally cars, the boys embark on a catastrophe-filled adventure, taking in Cold War submarine bases, f... Read all Jeremy, Richard, and James head to the Scandinavian Arctic Circle. Driving their favorite rally cars, the boys embark on a catastrophe-filled adventure, taking in Cold War submarine bases, frozen lake racetracks, and ski resort chaos. Jeremy, Richard, and James head to the Scandinavian Arctic Circle. Driving their favorite rally cars, the boys embark on a catastrophe-filled adventure, taking in Cold War submarine bases, frozen lake racetracks, and ski resort chaos.

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• Jeremy Clarkson
• Richard Hammond
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• Trivia The plane back to UK is registered as G-LATO (gelato)
• Goofs When the trio arrive at the football field, there was no rain. However, when it started raining and the scene cuts to Jeremy getting into his Audi, the seat will already be wet, possibly from him sitting on it with his rain soaked jacket.

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• Sep 18, 2022
• September 16, 2022 (United States)
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The Grand Tour Presents: A Scandi Flick —air date, interview, trailer and everything we know

The Grand Tour Presents: A Scandi Flick — the boys are back on the road for an icy adventure through Scandinavia's Arctic Circle.

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.

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Rebecca has more than 20 years' experience in journalism and is now writing about all things telly-related for TV Times, TV&Satellite Week, What’s On TV and whattowatch.com .

She’s interviewed all sorts of big-name stars, including Al Pacino, Ewan McGregor, Tom Hardy, Winona Ryder, Benedict Cumberbatch and more. She’s also been known to step in front of the camera, dressing up as a 1920s flapper to star in ITV’s Mr Selfridge a nd co-hosting ITV News at Ten with Mark Austin – all in the line of duty! 

When she’s not quizzing actors, directors and producers, you’ll find her bingeing US dramas and anything horror/sci-fi/zombie-themed. But her greatest love will always be Game of Thrones … just don’t mention the ending!

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The Grand Tour: A Scandi Flick — Cheerful blokey chaos from Clarkson, Hammond and May. Just leave your brain in the glovebox

Tv review: this tribute to nordic rally driving is boy’s own stuff starring three grumpy geezers from down the pub.

The Grand Tour: A Scandi Flick — James May, Jeremy Clarkson and Richard Hammond

Top Gear was once a cultural bete noire, its petrolhead-in-chief, Jeremy Clarkson, a symbol of boorish, driving-in-the-cycle-lane male privilege. As is the way of such things, this made him both universally loathed and engine-revvingly popular.

But Top Gear has since remade itself as a touchy-feely bastion of anti-laddishness, and Clarkson and the gang are off doing the grand tour — or, sort of, the Grand Tour, which finished its regular seasons on Prime Video several years ago and now returns for random one-offs in far-flung corners of the world.

[  Jeremy Clarkson being hoofed in the testes. Now that’s what I call erotica  ]

Amazon has, in other words, filleted the Top Gear formula, chucking out most of the car stuff and focusing on the bits everyone loved: the lavish travel features where the presenters get stuck in the mud and have amusing interactions with locals.

This time, for The Grand Tour: A Scandi Flick (Prime Video), it’s off to Scandinavia for a film that doubles as a tribute to Nordic rally driving. (The “Scandi flick” is a method of cornering involving oversteering into a turn while reducing speed.) Our fun begins in Norway, where Clarkson, James May and Richard Hammond show off their authentic rally cars — May has a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution, Hammond a Subaru Impreza etc — and then zoom down a tunnel.

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This proves surprisingly treacherous: May’s Mitsubishi judders temporarily out of control and comes to a crashing halt. He’s off to hospital while Clarkson and Hammond — who points out that, usually, he’s the one who crashes — pummel around a race circuit etched on a frozen lake.

It’s Boy’s Own stuff starring three grumpy geezers from down the pub. (May repairs his Lancer and is soon chugging towards the Swedish border in lukewarm pursuit of his compatriots.) And, as is the Clarkson tradition, it is neither clever nor especially illuminating in matters car-based.

But, at a time when it feels that everything on TV is trying to sell you something or preach to you, the cheerful blokey chaos that is the Grand Tour’s stock in trade has its charms. It’s also very rare nowadays to see on our screens three middle-aged men who aren’t much good at anything beyond banter.

[  The BBC still rues the day Jeremy Clarkson hit an Irishman  ]

This is men’s-sheds TV with the handbrake off. And with Clarkson behind the wheel it is as enjoyable and inconsequential as a whizz through the countryside with the window rolled down so nobody in the family knows you’ve been enjoying a sneaky cigarette. Just be warned: to wrest any enjoyment from it, you’ll have to leave your brain in the glovebox.

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The Grand Tour – A Scandi Flick – Review

Alex Bean Auto Culture , Blog , Car Crashes , Drifting Cars , Racing , Road Rage , Video 2022 , 5 , A Scandi Flick , Amazon Prime , car news , Five , James May , Jeremy Clarkson , Review , Richard Hammond , Season , The Grand Tour 0

The boys – Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, James May – return for the fifth season of “The Grand Tour” with “The Scandi Flick” [a reference to an earlier “Top Gear” episode featuring Finnish rally car drivers] on Amazon Prime and it mostly delivers everything that “The Grand Tour/Top Gear” fans would like to see from the boys.

There are an unending river of insults, some pranks and, of course, inappropriate races and usages of the vehicles they are featuring – in this case, genuine Mitsubishi and Subaru rally cars with an Audi RS4 tossed into the mix that Jeremy turns into a rally car.

The location is all of the major Scandinavian countries who have territories above the Arctic Circle [sorry, Denmark and Iceland] where the boys have assembled with their rally car of choice – Richard – Subaru; James – Mitsubishi and Jeremy – Audi [though not the untouchable S1 or Pikes Peak Quattros of yore, but rather the more pedestrian RS4, as it has the proper bloodline – though we can all feel relieved that Jeremy did not pick the Lancia].

What ensues, of course, is a fairly typical “Top Gear/The Grand Tour” episode where the boys engage in all manner of competitions that fans have grown to know and love over the years. Everybody will have their favorite, naturally, but at the top of the AutoSportsNation list is towing specially-constructed Scandinavian “caravans” behind their rally cars – probably one of the most inappropriate usages of a rally car that can be imagined – but one which clearly involved the most fun for the trio.

All in all, being a mostly typical episode of one or both of the shows, it had its pros and cons. The pros have a long list – the pranks, the races, the challenges and the witty back-and-forth repartee that could only emanate from the mouths of good friends. The cons are a much shorter list – consisting only of the more obvious of the scripted ploys and the inclusion of Clarkson’s politicized remarks, which seemed out of place in the otherwise fun episode of friends fooling around as well as unnecessary if there were no similar remarks coming from Hammond and May to balance the sheet.

With that, ASN awards a solid 90 out of 100 to “The Grand Tour – A Scandi Flick” with hopes that another episode is not too far behind.

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The Grand Tour Presents: A Scandi Flick

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Having been confined to their home shores for two years, Jeremy, James and Richard are finally back on the road for their first post pandemic road trip. This time the boys head for the icy wastes of the Scandinavian Arctic Circle with their three all time favourite rally bred cars to help get them through the snow. Their Arctic Circle journey begins at the Norwegian coast, on the dramatic Lofoten Islands peninsula, with the world’s most remote and spectacular football pitch as their start line. From there they must cross Europe’s Last Great Wilderness, a trek that takes them through the tops of Norway, Sweden and Finland to journey’s end near the Russian border. What they believe will be an easy trip in their tough, rally bred machines, turns out to be anything but. Along the way they suffer heart stopping high speed drama, injury to their not so young bodies, and perilous danger on the frozen lakes. To add to their woes there is nowhere to live in the snowy wilderness so they must build their own homes, from whatever they can scavenge, to tow behind them on skis. Alongside the danger and the pitiful living conditions, there is much to see and do. Travelling through the breath-taking landscape they come across a secret Cold War submarine base where they are definitely not welcomed, and a race track carved on a frozen lake. Here they test their cars in an adrenaline filled race towing Skjoring skiers at almost 100mph behind them. Back on the road their mobile homes cause endless havoc that culminate in Finland in a calamitous unscheduled encounter with a ski slope. Then, near journey’s end, their mission is in danger of total failure. In between the peril and the catastrophes there is also plenty of laughter, as Jeremy and Richard literally start a Cold War between the two of them, of escalating ice based pranks. Their already impressive cars become even more amazing once modded, with Jeremy fitting a particularly lethal modification to his. The speed sequences are immense, and the snowy, icy scenery provides the most spectacular back drop for their first Grand Tour since the world opened up again.

Andy Wilman

Expectation Entertainment

Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, James May

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Produced by Expectation Entertainment  Executive Produced by Andy Wilman  Cast   Jeremy Clarkson Richard Hammond James May

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The Grand Tour Review:  A Scandi Flick

And we’re back!  In what seems like forever since the pandemic started over two years ago, we get the first real international Grand Tour adventure since “A Massive Hunt” premiered in December 2020.  The challenge this time is for Clarkson, Hammond, and May to pick out three rally cars and take them through the Scandinavian countries of Norway, Sweden, and Finland—all while staying above the Arctic Circle.  What follows feels like the most Top Gear-esque Grand Tour episode in recent years, full of challenges, pranks, injuries, and even a little glimmer of hope. 

As per usual for these challenges, we start off with a bit of a row between presenters.  While Richard Hammond and James May have elected to do things properly, respectively choosing a Subaru Impreza and a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo, Jeremy Clarkson appears with an Audi RS4.  The other two are quick to point out that the RS4 is by no means a rally car, and Clarkson rationalizes his way (see, “bluffs”) to letting it compete.  The point of choosing rally cars for the challenge was the belief that they would be suitable for the potentially rough terrain of the Arctic, though Clarkson seems to have opted for power and speed (once again) over what might actually work. 

We’re naturally treated to a series of challenges during the course of the 90-minute special, the first of which is a speed trial down the tunnel of an old submarine base.  This is where the first major incident of the special occurs and amazingly, the one who gets hurt isn’t Richard Hammond.  James ends up speeding just a little too much and when he tries to stop, ends up spinning his car and hitting the wall at full force.  Fortunately, he’s not injured beyond a broken rib—but the car is seemingly another matter.  Having born the brunt of the impact, it becomes highly doubtful that it can be repaired and that James will be stuck in the Volvo 360 that producer Andy Willman procured as the dreaded “back up car”. 

While James mends himself and the Evo, Hammond and Clarkson continue on, finding a workshop in which they can “upgrade” their cars in the normal Grand Tour fashion.  They are eventually rejoined by May who has miraculously fixed his Mitsubishi.  The next challenge involves skijoring, which is when a skier is pulled around a track, normally by dogs, horses, or a motorcycle/snowmobile, but this time it’s with the presenters’ cars.  Following a visit to a mining town whose activities are actually causing area homes to sink, the three get the idea to create their own homes that can be towed by their respective cars.  Clarkson fashions what’s essentially a tiny home, Hammond opts for a Scandinavian hut, and May’s ostensibly looks like an enclosed bus stop (May saying it’s so he can look at the Aurora Borealis at night). 

On the way to catch their flight back to the UK, shenanigans ensue as they only can when these three are involved.  The prank war begins when Clarkson freezes Hammond’s car keys in a block of ice, which Clarkson claims to have tried to prevent the freezing by peeing on the ice.  Hammond then gets his revenge by pouring water over the Audi during the night, causing the entire RS4 to be encased in ice the next morning.  Clarkson ultimately has the last laugh after realizing they actually parked their mobile homes on a ski run.  He then unhitches Hammond’s shed from the Subaru and gives the shed a push down the slopes.  This is but one of two running jokes throughout the episode where the three of them keep camping in places they shouldn’t, such as the aforementioned ski slope and mistaking a traditional Sámi hut in a reenactment camp as an emergency shelter. 

After the pandemic ended hopes for more adventurous challenges in Season 4, the Fifth Season of The Grand Tour is back to the format we know and love.  From legit scares to hilarious tricks, this felt much closer to the episodes of the past than “Lochdown” and “Carnage-a-Trois” did.  Certainly, those episodes helped tide us over during dark times, but similar to having to make your own fun when the weather’s bad outside, they just weren’t the same.  Now the people can rejoice again and enjoy some good ol’ car-driven mayhem, just as the petrol gods intended. 

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Really surprised they chose to show the graphic accident. They should have put a trigger warning – it can be rather upsetting for those who’ve been in bad car accidents (like my wife).

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What Happened To The Grand Tour: A Scandi Flick Cars? Their Future Revealed

The Grand Tour: A Scandi Flick was released last week to Prime Video. Since then, many fans have been asking what has happened to Jeremy Clarkson , James May , and Richard Hammond’s cars that they drove in the episode.

May drove, and crashed, the Mitsubishi Evo 8, Hammond had a Subaru Impreza and Clarkson chose an Audi RS4 B7.

Taking to The Grand Tour’s YouTube channel, Hammond and May took another look around the cars and discussed what has happened to them since filming and what are the plans for them in the future.

The former Top Gear hosts revealed that Hammond has decided to keep the Subaru Impreza and plans to do some work to it.

“I am actually [going to keep it]. I love it.

“I’ve always loved these, but it’s a bit like, the only car that I can think of that does it is the Porsche Boxter, you see them around think it’s a Porsche Boxster. It’s nothing, any generation. And then you get in it and you drive it and you think, ‘Oh my God, this thing is absolutely amazing.’

“And it’s the same with this. I thought, I know what Subarus are like and how it feels, then as soon as I got in it, I was like ‘Ohhhh’.”

After comparing the Subaru and Mitsubishi for a while, and Hammond and May debating over which car was more stripped back and about the driving and which was had more technology, they moved onto the touchy subject of how May managed to wreck the Evo. Hammond asked just how ruined is it, to which May responded:

“Well, it still goes. Which is the point. Let’s be honest, I did a more thorough test. The point about a rally car, in use on a rally, is that they get crashed about all the time. And they are out in the field so it is ‘bush mechanics’. They are beaten back into shape with rubber mallets and crowbars and they continue. And I proved that the Evo can sustain that sort of punishment. You [Hammond] didn’t do that and neither did he [Clarkson].

“As a motoring journalist, I did a proper test of this car.”

Hammond went on to ask May what he was going to do with the Evo and if he was going to keep it. May explained:

“No. I don’t know if we can admit this. It is actually a write off, in road use terms, because it’s bent.

“Because in the garage, they had to put a hydraulic jack in to push the engine that way about three inches.”

Excitedly bringing conversation back to his Impreza, Hammond elaborated on his earlier point about keeping the rally car:

“I am keeping this and I think I am going to re-work it and turn it into an absolute monster.”

“I’m going to see if I can get massive horsepower out of it and make it a bit angry”

For the whole of the duration of the video, they joked that Jeremy Clarkson had been locked in the boot of his Audi RS4 as it is ‘not a real rally car’. Going on to talk about it, describing it as an ‘executive business car’, Hammond and May said:

“Just because it has the word ‘Quattro’ on it, doesn’t make it a Quattro.

“You could write space shuttle on it and it doesn’t make it one of those either.

“It merely means it has a four wheel drive system. It is not a rally car.”

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