It feels like ages since we last saw the famous trio on one of their trips around the globe, taking a random car and pitting it against the challenging terrain they are faced with. For their penultimate adventure, Jeremy Clarkson, James May and Richard Hammond are heading back to Africa.

For many Top Gear fans, the specials in Africa - Botswana (2007) and the search for the source of the River Nile (2013) - were two of the very best in the entire history of the show. Who could forget Hammond’s beloved 1967 Opel Kadett which he named Oliver, Clarkson’s ‘genius’ log braking system that jumped up and smashed his back windscreen or James May turning his Volvo estate into a workshop?

The Grand Tour: Sand Job will see the trio head to Mauritania, where they follow the route of the Paris-Dakar rally in modified sports cars - Jeremy in a Jaguar F Type V6, Richard in an Aston Martin Volante V12 and James in a Maserati.

The special is the first to air since it was announced that the show would be coming to an end. In an interview with The Times, Clarkson explained that he felt he had “done everything you can do” in cars.

He said: "I've driven cars higher than anyone else and further north than anyone else. We’ve done everything you can do with a car. When we had meetings about what to do next, people just threw their arms in the air."

He also called the show “immensely physical” following recent episodes which saw the trio racing in speed boats and camping on the beach. The success of Clarkson’s Farm - the third series of which is coming this May - may have also contributed to the decision. All three presenters currently have popular solo projects which take up a large chunk of their time.

The final Grand Tour special will take place in Zimbabwe and is expected to be released later this year.

The Grand Tour: Sand Job will be released on Prime Video on February 16th.

words: Mike Booth
pictures: Amazon