Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May have been spotted in Yorkshire driving around in a newly built amphibious car, almost 10 years on from the last time they attempted such a challenge.
But it hasn’t been smooth sailing for the trio, so to speak – as they were slammed by residents of a quaint Yorkshire village of Farnley Tyas, after production staff for The Grand Tour closed off roads. The road closures forced some drivers to take detours of up to 10 miles.
Clarkson, Hammond and May’s newest amphibious car appears to have been based on a Suzuki Jimni, and features a pair of rather familiar swing-down outriggers – perhaps a more refined version of what we previously saw on Jeremy’s Toybota Mark II. What’s different about this amphibious car however, is that there appears to be a jet engine mounted in the rear tray.
Let’s hope the jet engine helped the boys escape the controversy they created, after village resident Charles Rapley, 73, slammed the production company for the disruption. The retired construction manager who rents a stable at a local livery yard, claimed he lost out on business on Wednesday, along with 20 other horse riders.
“They were filming the Grand Tour there,” he said. “The road closure allowed them yesterday and Thursday. It’s usual total chaos and mismanagement. It basically means anyone wanting to come from one side of the village to the other has to take a 10-mile detour – it’s not practical and we should not have to do it.”
“It has caused considerable disruption to people moving about from one side to the other,” he added.
A spokesperson for The Grand Tour has released a statement in response, saying: “We were filming up in Yorkshire yesterday but with respect would hardly say we caused chaos. We informed the local TV and filming authorities of our plans, we filmed on a quiet section of B road, and we had marshall’s holding traffic for short periods. We didn’t broadcast that we were filming in the area because it can be counterproductive, in safety terms, if some of our more eager, younger fans turn up, trying to photograph us whilst we’re driving. We are though, very sorry if any local resident was delayed.”
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That design doesn’t look too promising, looks like it’ll sink faster than Hammond’s old dampervan. I like the jet engine though, it’ll probably explode and kill them all 😛