When they left the show, almost everyone watching top gear realized what they tuned in for, the passion they have for cars and their chemistry is what actually made top gear fun.

My biggest take away from this is everyone needs a James May in their life. What a bro.

I have never seen anyone age faster than this trio, they went from bashful middle-aged men to elderly like overnight.

The spare ‘BEII END’ number plates in the Argentina special were most likely going to be used later in the show as a prank on Hammond or May. It’s pretty common in top gear for the trio to play pranks on each other, often by modifying each others cars. That is not proof of them deliberately referencing the Falklands.

So much respect for James, he never once thought about staying on top gear and abandoning his mate. He knew that when Clarkson leaves, he leaves, no hesitation

I love how James stuck up for Jeremy and was so genuine with how he handled the press

"All Spanish people chucked donkeys out of tower blocks" As a Spanish I find this absurdly hilarious

Short answer: Started with Jeremy Clarkson, and ended with Jeremy Clarkson

my aunt sabine was one of the new presenters on the show, after the original three left. when we lost her to cancer in '21, clarkson may and hammond send my grandmother this enormous bouquet of flowers with a card with their condolences. it was a really nice gesture on their part

Top Gear, in its prime, wasn’t a car show. It was a show about 3 mates who happened to like cars. They could’ve made it about trains, bikes or anything else. It was Jeremy, James and Richard who made the show as they were so good individually but perfect as a group. So many spin-offs and no-one can recreate that bond between 3 best friends. The premise of 3 people who are so different, having barely anything in common, working for 10+ in front of millions across the world for talking about/driving cars sounds like a wild dream someone would come up with so no wonder in this 1 in a million situation, it did so well. Also, they had the great ability to mix each of the 3 into any part of the show and have it do well, which was massive in the success. It’s like if you ran a restaurant and had the front of house, chef and cleaner who were able to do each other’s job as well as each other.

The plates you mentioned were the original plates from the car. The guy who sold it to the show shared photos to prove it. The producers realized it during filminf and made the bell end plates to fix it before it created an issue. But the show has a long history of intentionally pissing people off so no one was prepared to give the benefit of the doubt

Jeremy, James, and Richard are the best comedic trio I've ever seen. Love those old Gear Heads, their chemistry and friendship. Top Gear is and always will be great the only shame is these gentlemen keep getting older so even Grand Tour will see its end sometime soon. Absolute Legends!

"And if you'll excuse me I very desperately have to write the eBay listing for my Ferrari " James May is a hoot

I've always enjoyed how James basically said "No, it's the three of us or nothing" so I truly believe that they are friends not just for show. ❤️

i started watching this show before i even had a driving license or knew anything about cars. The chemistry and comedy this trio provides can entertain anyone, ive put this show on around random guests and they always get sucked in to the special episodes, every time.

I will always love the trio... forever. Whether they are still on the screen or not. They literally lifted my spirits when. It was down and gave me some of the best laughs. They are forever great.

I'm a 28 year old woman, who got her driving licence last year. Top gear was a show I watched growing up with my dad, not because I had an interest in cars, I didn't. It was because it was funny and entertaining. It was one of the shows we always watched together, with scrapheap challenge and robot wars

The Grand Tour has improved over the years and it’s getting close to peak Top Gear. I hope the old trio stay healthy and keep providing us content forever.

It was one of the few that got people into cars. For something that was basically a over produced talk show it really did make a huge impact on the automotive scene. They changed the history by simply reviewing and driving cars. This show was so special to so many people and when they got canceled it really left a void. New top gear will never be the same due to the presenters.

i never have been a car person but, you could find my brother, father and myself sitting down almost every night to watch something we recorded off BBCA (we yanks love the trio too). the only reason we ever watched was those 3 and their chemistry together. sure the cars were cool but the shenanigans they got into, the challenges and how they interacted with each other just drew us in and kept us hooked.

4:55 sums up why Top Gear/Grand Tour works so well - even outside the show James called Jeremy a "monumental bellend" while standing up for him, implying that he likes working with him and values him as a friend. Showing that the relationship between the trio was 100% genuine. They weren't just co-workers (such as Adam and Jamie from the Mythbusters), but true friends who always talk shit about each other but would probably lay down their lives for each other.

I love how James handled the press. Such a class act.

Theres the job and then theres family. And these 3 were the closest thing to a proper on air family. The kind of guys who are always beside you and in your corner. They were truly blessed to have met each other and worked together for so long. A joy to watch.

You've got the license plate story a little out of wack. Jeremy had requested a 928 GTS for the special, only two of which were available in the budget for sale at the time. One was ratty and unlikely to make it through the filming so they bought H982FKL. That's the original plate it was sold within the UK and lived with for its life to that point. It was an oversight on behalf of production to not notice it, especially in the context of where they were heading. Regardless, it wasn't done on purpose. During the episode, you can see the front plate fall off the car halfway through. The team had been alerted to the issues it was causing while filming and so had a backup set bearing BE11END for the car to bear during the car football match that was planned as an episode finale. They never got that far and the genuine story from the cast and producers ended up being lost in the maelstrom of headlines that tallied with prior behaviour by the production. Ultimately in this instance, it's a case of the boy who cried wolf. Regardless of that, physical violence against co-workers shouldn't be tolerated and Clarkson had pushed the limit one too many times by that point. Especially against a BBC that was shifting to become more in keeping with the modern and liberal attitudes of its users (odd that its pendulum-d away from that now).

Without Jeremy, Richard, and James, there is no Top Gear.

James was basically "He's a knob, but he's OUR knob" about Clarkson, and I think that sums it up perfectly.

i love how the entire crew left with them to the grand tour aswell as there solo shows

Richard's crashes terrify me, Jeremy really is a monumental BellEnd, and James May is my spirit animal. I was sad when the show ended but the truth is Jeremy was getting increasingly frustrated with the Beeb and I'm not sure he would have renewed his own contract with them anyway. What happend with Oisin was just a symptom of that. If Clarkson had just pulled out of his own accord I'm not sure that would have generated the energy for the cast and crew to create the Grand Tour phenomenon. Everything apparently happens for a reason.

The funniest thing is, they have been to Antarctica, Chernobyl, and some of the most dangerous roads on the planet. Yet the only time they were genuinely worried about their safe...was in Argentina and Alabama. You can't deny how loyal these three are to each other. Sure, they rip the piss out of each other on a daily basis; but if one of them gets hurt or something, the other two jump into big brother mode instantly. Remember when James hit the back of his head in Syria? Nobody hurts them BUT them! Hope they one day decide to visit my country, I'd love to show them around my palace.

Top gear Specials with Jeremy, James and Hammond is still the greatest form of entertainment ever created

I'm glad these 3 have all managed to remain the best of mates even with all the drama and chaos unfolding around them.

Top Gear died when Jeremy James & Richard left. The chemistry these 3 have will never be reproduced no matter how hard BBC can try

Not only did Clarkson, May or Hammond not get fired, when they went over to Amazon, most of their Top Gear production crew went with them.

Not even a car guy or a big TG fan but the chemistry of the OG's and that natural banter(even though allot of the dialogue were clearly words they memorized of a script) really made the show for me. These new guys just feel out of place/unnatural

The Clarkson, May, Hammond Top Gear will never be touched. These guys were a step above.

I have watched top gear so many times I don’t even want to try and count, it will never get old…I’ll watch my fave episodes again and again forever. The show was a huge part of my childhood, 9 year old me sat in front of the tele watching my top gear special box set. I’ve never been the biggest car fan, so I never really watched it for the cars, but the trio were so entertaining (and still are) that you didn’t need to like cars to sit through an episode. I agree that there has never been a show like it.

The old cast's acting felt so "real". Most of time I thought it was recorded without any script. It was great

5:47 What isn't actually noted is that the number plate H982 FKL has been registered to the Porsche 928 since 1991 so it's not unreasonable to think it was a mere coincidence.

I love how everyone acts as if they were the first three hosts of Top Gear, and that it never existed before 2001. The same way Sky Sports thinks Football didn't exist before 1992, and Fans of the Netflix series "drive to survive" thinks that F1 didn't exist before that thing started.

The comedic geniuses of TopGear will always be this trio; Jeremy (The Knob), May (Captain Slow) and Hammond (The Hamster). As a kid I used to get home from school, do all of my homework and sit patiently waiting for a new episode of TopGear on the TV every Friday and on the occasional Sunday with my family. This programme will always have a place in my life and so will these 3 gentlemen. I remember watching Hammond host other tv programmes too like Total Wipeout and Brainiac: Science Abuse, some of you may or may not remember these but if you have kids you can show them these classics they will love them. Clarkson and May also did their own historical, educational and mechanical-type programmes and documentaries as well. The calibre from these 3 is just remarkable and nobody else can replicate it and saying it now leaves a small knot in my chest because they are getting really old now and their wheels will fall off eventually. I know this video is over a year old at this point but better late than never lol. Thanks Phat Memer for the video! 👍

I love the fact that when Grand Tour was finally allowed to mention Top Gear after season 3 on the actual show, Jeremy constantly made fun of it and how poorly the decision to fire him went for the BBC

Losing Mythbusters and Top Gear were the two biggest blows to the entertainment part of my life. Thankfully, everyone on the TG side is alive, and got to go on to something as good or better. The further losses on the Mythbusters side were brutal. Though writing reminds me that I was just recently informed that a documentary about Jesse Combs has been released that I need to watch. TG fans, you may like it as well, as she did a lot of land speed record stuff.

These three guys were awesome I love watching the show and watch what they do with the cars and a constant competition between each other, these guys had the right chemistry in the stig was awesome too

The Argentina incident is a great example of hysteria. You would assault people because of H983 FLK. Damn savages

I have much respect for him telling fans to not bully Osh and made a public apology admitting his wrongdoings.

You can't break true friendship, and that's exactly what made the show. The Grand Tour works because it's still them being themselves. They make mistakes, they work and grow together, and they accept that they're going to go through rough times. But in the end, they stick together and have each other’s backs. Even if the Argentina special and assault didn’t happen, the show as we knew it would’ve ended because Clarkson wasn’t happy with the BBC. One factor that wasn’t mentioned in this video was the BBC terminating the publishing deal with Jezza and Andy Willman’s company which upset the both of them. The abrupt ending and burned bridges could’ve been avoided but Jeremy wasn’t gonna renew with the BBC no matter what. Also, the car had that license plate since 1991. The other license plates found in the car they left behind in Argentina were meant to be switched during a football match to prevent problems, but of course Argentinos prevented this.

Top Gear UK was literally enjoying car culture with your friends, with 3 older friends hosting it. The moment they got rid of our friends, and said these are your new friends…. We were out.

It's no secret why Top Gear changed cast. Jeremy Clarkson hit the producer after getting angry filming a video where he sat in a river for some period of time. Jeremy jokingly mentioned on the Grand Tour that he's the only one to not be fired out of the three so it sounds like he resigned or quit after the issue. The BBC tried to replace them, but, let's be honest here, the new cast just doesn't have the charm they do. Clarkson is brash, May is intelligent/knowledgeable, and Hammond has some comedic timing and dresses well. Matt LeBlanc wasn't too bad playing "The American" on a BBC show. I found it funny how clueless he was at times. The then main host at the time just came across like an unfunny hipster. The BBC just needs to really get those 3 things again.

Biggest shock I had was seeing Jeramy on a bicycle. :) Also his contract was not cancelled, it was not renewed, (his TopGear contract that is), he still worked for the BBC after this time, he presented a few different shows.

You've mentioned twice that Clarkson was fired, when the video from the BBC director clearly says his contract wasn't being renewed. That's two completely different things

Every car guy cried when: -Paul Walker died. -Michael Schumacher fall in coma. -Ken Block died. And when Top Gear failed.

James is such a legend. He was always my favorite on the show, and I've followed his post-TG shows most ardently. He did Jeremy a solid with all his press.

I think the biggest issue with the new team is they where colleagues, where as Clarkson, Hammond and May where friends first, colleagues second. It just added an element of relatability to it and made it feel more natural. More like hanging out with a bunch of mates than actors reading a script.

Top Gear is still running on the BBC? I had no idea. I only ever logged on to BBC iPlayer to watch top gear, when the trio left so did I.

Top Gear ended when they left. There is not an American version of the show or any other version of the show. What they produced is the only Top Gear the world will ever get.

"As much as I think he's a knob, I quite like working with Jeremy" That's not some random bs PR line. Its a genuinely nice thing you would expect to hear from a close friend

As a correction, the idea of the Argentina special was that they would build an arena to play car football. When they entered the country, they were informed of the problem that could occur with the number plate H982 FKL. You can check the car's record on the DVLA, it had that number plate since new. As for the BE11 END number plates were to go on Jeremy's football car. The number plate H982 FKL was entirely coincidental. But when people try hard enough, they can find a reason to get angry at anyone.

The only regret I have was that me (an American) and my Dad loved Top Gear UK, my christmas gift/graduation gift the winter before the fracas was going to Dunsfold for an in studio filming experience. I love how Top Gear UK made it okay to be into cars, but also all of the Top Gear-esque content that has come from it, even if the Grand Tour doesn't always get the job done.

I Confess, I Was Never A Big Fan Of Top Gear, I Always Thought They Were A Little "Too Much Dramatic" (Of Course I Would Be Blasted With Negative Comments If I Said This Back In The Day), But I Always Recognized Their Knowledge And All, They've Done Awesome Things: Races, Reviews, Random Train Reviews, Collabs, Funny Episodes And Even The Forza Horizon 4 Chapter, But Since The O.G Trio Left,They Aren't The Same Anymore, They Went From Sarcastic Car Critics With Strong Personalities To People That Loved The Porsche Mission R Interior (No Offense), Now It's More Like A "EletricMusk Gear" Than Top Gear Itself, I Like To Think That The Top Gear Has Been "History Channelizing" And It's Sad. I Feel Like Donut Media Is Becoming The New Top Gear.

With the Argentina special, those spare number plates didn't mean it was on purpose. They were notified of the issue when they entered the country so had them, and they were going to put them on to avoid the situation but they didn't have time to because they got ambushed early

God I miss the old Top Gear. My father and I used to watch and laugh. Whenever I watch the older episodes now I remember him. Jeremy’s willingness to say pretty much anything on camera was just hilarious.

I really loved watching top gear, storage wars and fenerbahçe matches with my dad as a kid. Peaceful, fun and quality family time. Forever grateful for the show. Still watching it whenever i miss home.

The fact that Top Gear is now cancelled as well literally shows how much popularity the show got from the original trio compared to the new trio

I love how James would always call Jeremy a knob or a bellend, even when defending or supporting him. It shows how close they actually are 😅 only true friends do stuff like that.

I remember when it abruptly ended in 2015. So many middle aged men in bootcut jeans and brown leather shoes devastated 👌🏻😂

I’ll always have insane respect for may and Hammond sticking by their mate. Both had other projects with BBC but took the leap into the unknown with Jeremy

5:50, the incident in argentina, supposedly you can look up the plates that supposedly reference the falklands war and there´s the registry in the uk, and the ones found inside were actually meant to be placed in the car when they got to ushuaia in order to prevent said issue

to be fair, watch the james may interview about the number plate and it is clear it was not a fake, it was a poor coincidence

2:03 That episode marked the very first time I passed out in my life. I was still young, I was laughing so hard my back and my chest were all hurting really badly. I dropped to the ground still in this limbo of uncontrollable laughter and flinching pain, and the next thing I knew I was already in bed. My family said my laugh turned into heavy snoring-like sound before I turned completely silent just lying on the ground. That was scary, but funny at the same time.

As a Brazilian I can say this was the best show about cars I have ever seen.

Top Gear was, and still is, the only "car show" I watched and loved. I still watch reruns when I can find one. It was always about the chemistry of the presenters. I live cars, and although I'm an American my first car was an MGA and my two favorites are an E-Type (which I've owned for 50 years!) and my beloved XJ-S. But although I was attracted to British cars it was the interactions of the trio that kept me tuning in.

These boys are living legends. There will never be another show like Top Gear. The stars aligned for it to happen. It was amazing while it lasted.

these three are my personal favourite in the world, nothing and no one can replace their legacy

I miss top gear so much. I know that ‘top gear’ is still running and the grand tour is a thing. But I agree that there has never been anything like this show before and never will

Honestly.. chris Harris really knows what he’s on about when it comes to cars. It’s a shame they’ve shoehorned him into trying to recreate the original trios magic. He’s good enough to stand on his own. He’s then only reason I still watch top gear.

The registration plates were actually genuine, not the bellend one, but there's actually DVLA documents showing that's it's had them since the beginning. The car was also got on short notice so their wasn't a lot of the crew looking at everything.

amazing video and editing mate. Subscribed! hope u make it big one day keep up the great work!

Update: Top Gear UK is no longer aired. The big accident Freddie Flintoff had pretty much sealed the deal but it was only a matter of time before it naturally ended. You can't think of Top Gear without thinking of Clarkson, Hammond and May.

For those still wishing to experience at least 2 of these 3’s dynamic chemistry, Richard and James are both owners of the UKposts channel DRIVETRIBE, and they both regularly appear in various kinds of videos on the channel weekly. It’s an amazing way to regularly experience at least some of the magic we love from the Top Gear of the past, and has some very entertaining videos too.

You were wrong about the Argentinian episode that was genuinely the porsches original number plate, it can be backed up by running a HPI check on the car, which shows it had that number plate from new.

I tried to watch one episode of the new top gear and it physically hurt me, like watching a screenplay of a car review written in an article, and the friendships are so corporate. I firmly believe no other trio will be able to live up to these three, it is the best motoring tv can ever get.

That was a great video! I have a lot of memories of Top Gear when I was in High School, and these guys were the best. I remember during my senior year of high school I remember hearing the news Clarkson got fired and I was shocked. I remember the BBC were holding auditions to be the next host and I auditioned, and I got get an email from the BBC saying thank you for your audition. We will let you know if we hear anything, and I never heard from them again. I realize that next year would be 10 years ago when Clarkson got fired and man time goes fast.

In a strange way I think that it is fitting that TG under Clarkson ended in an abrupt and controversial way. It’s sums up the entire era and it makes us feel more sad about it having finished.

As a kid i stayed up late at night to watch every new TopGear whilst my parents were working late. Literally cried when it came to this abrupt end. Thank god for The Grand Tour to give us a few more years with our beloved trio.

The three of them demonstrated something to the BBC that the organisation could not understand or demonstrate. The BBC secretly despised Top Gear but loved the success. I do hope the three of them do something together in the future.

They exposed Jeremy punching a dude over steak and really thought no one would just find it hilarious

The moment you truly understand topgear is the koment you realize it was never about the cars. The premise of the show and the grand tour was always about adventure with your mates and getting in trouble. Cars were just the lense used to allow for that story and by their presence and aid of whatever ridiculous activity you were getting into you learned to love the cars. I think this was shown the most perfectly when Jeremy told the story about the Porsche that he had on loan the week his father died. It was a touching story that elevated that car to more than the sum of its parts. That was the essence of top gear.

I do get sad that they’re getting older but I’m sure these 3 will keep on driving cars and entertaining us with their chemistry until their own wheels come off. Top Gear wouldn’t have been possible without these legends!

4:43 The bridge really DOES have a slope, though! Are people blind?

Top Gear was never about cars, it was about three mates who loved cars

The H892 FKL numberplate *was* actually coincidental. The Porsche Clarkson drove was originally licensed with that licence plate according to the DVLA. James May claimed in an interview that the Porsche they bought was 1 of 2 on sale in Britain at the time that fit the spec they wanted for the show, so the car being chosen *because* of its licence plate is also unlikely.

To this day I still go back often and watch the Top Gear specials. As unfortunate as the change in hosts was, it allowed the original trio to utilise the format of the “specials” and refine it with the Grand Tour

These trio are the modern day version of Abbot and Costello, you could drop them in basically anything, give them a post it note worth of material to work wit, and watch the magic happen.

Its funny, bbc doesnt care about rasism, pedophilia, sexism or anything else, but they were pissed about jeremy for different reasons

6:46 clarkson riding a bicycle? He must have truly been distraught at the time

The fact that James, Richard, and Andrew, plus much of the Top Gear crew, stayed with Jeremy after he was fired. Of course, James and Richard had expressed nationalistic and otherwise potentially offensive things over the run of Top Gear, so perhaps they thought their necks were on the block too. However, not many people would walk from a money printer and fame monster like Top Gear.

Something quite funny, is that were I lived (Sweden) after they left, they still basically only broadcast Old episode's or compilations of clips from older episodes. to the point, that I only saw 1 of the new cast, atleast thats how i Remember it

Very entertaining video, loved your take on everything but the license plate drama and how you said it was "definitely done on purpose". It wasn't, and the BBC didn't just "claim it", it was proven in every way possible! The Car's logbook and previous owners; everything pointed that that license plate was genuine! The BELL END plates were more than likely the ones they planned to use during the game of car football - Something that did get mentioned during the special!

The chemistry that Jeremy, James and Richard had was what made the show entertaining. I love the challenges and the trips they did more so than the cars they reviewed. My dad and I laughed so hard during the Reliant Robin that Jeremy flipped over several times during an episode.

Jeremy is an old school guy and I really like him for it, they still entertain us with content, big fan of Richard, Jeremy and James.