The Grand Tour is finally unleashing its automotive insanity today

After a long wait, the first episode of The Grand Tour is finally available on the Amazon Prime Instant Video streaming service. 

The episode, which stars Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May, follows the ex-Top Gear presenters as they test out three hybrid hypercars in the Californian desert alongside hundreds of other cars and thousands of people. 

It certainly sounds expensive, belying the shows reported $200 million (£160 million, AU$269 million) budget.

If you have an Amazon Prime Video subscription you can watch the show through the Amazon website here.  If you don’t have a subscription, Amazon is currently offering Amazon Prime discounts in the USA and the UK.

A boon for Amazon Prime

For many years Top Gear was a jewel in the BBC’s crown, and regularly pulled in millions of viewers.

However the trio left the show after Clarkson was fired for punching a producer over the quality of the catering that had been provided on a shoot. 

Amazon reportedly paid many millions to secure the trio, which a senior Netflix executive declared to be not worth it

However Amazon appears to have turned the show into its flagship production, integrating Clarkson into advertising for its Fire TV hardware. 

Jon Porter

Jon Porter is the ex-Home Technology Writer for TechRadar. He has also previously written for Practical Photoshop, Trusted Reviews, Inside Higher Ed, Al Bawaba, Gizmodo UK, Genetic Literacy Project, Via Satellite, Real Homes and Plant Services Magazine, and you can now find him writing for The Verge.