Clarkson's new Amazon show: The big questions

Last July, the trio signed with online streaming service Amazon Prime, after the BBC decided not to renew Clarkson's contract following his"fracas" with a producer.

However, it's only more recently that details of the new show have started to emerge. Here's what we know so far.

When can I watch Clarkson, Hammond and May on Amazon?

Clarkson, Hammond and May have signed up to present three 12-episode series, with each episode set to be roughly 60 minutes in length.

The show will debut in the autumn, and will be available to anyone who has signed up to Amazon’s £79-per-year Prime streaming service, which also includes free delivery of items bought on Amazon.

However, while some Amazon series are made available all in one go so subscribers can “binge-watch” an entire series if they choose, the new motoring show is expected to stick to the once-a-week schedule familiar to Top Gear’s BBC Two viewers.

How similar will Jeremy Clarkson's new show be to Top Gear?

Regular elements of Top Gear, such as The Stig and the Star in a Reasonably Priced Car, are the property of the BBC, so won't be carried over. 

However, the format will still be familiar to Top Gear viewers, with a mix of studio-based chat and international adventures.

Former Top Gear executive producer Andy Wilman, who has also moved to Amazon to work on the show, told Broadcast the three presenters would have “more time to yak” and their friendship would be the show’s central element.

"You can’t reinvent the sideways, Last of the Summer Wine-type relationship they have because that is outside of television, that is theirs," he said. "But there will be a new look, new elements, new home."

Will Jeremy Clarkson's new motoring show really be called Gear Knobs?

Rumours about the name of the show were rife even before the deal with Amazon was finalised. Indeed, when Netflix was favourite to sign the trio, it was suggested that it could be called House of Cars – a play on that service's popular drama House of Cards.

More recently Gear Knobs has been doing the rounds, and this seemed plausible given the presenters' love of innuendo.

What cars will feature on Jeremy Clarkson's new show?

In the opening episode, the trio will compare three of the latest hybrid hypercars: the Ferrari LaFerrari, McLaren P1 and Porsche 918 Spyder.

Clarkson previously drove the P1 in an episode of Top Gear, while May tried the LaFerrari and Hammond the 918. However, this will be the first time that they've tested the cars back-to-back.

Indeed, it's quite a coup for the new show, because the BBC tried and failed to get Ferrari, McLaren and Porsche to agree to a back-to-back test. 

All three cars are limited-run models capable of more that 200mph, but the Ferrari is the most expensive, at £1.15 million. The McLaren costs £866,000, while the Porsche is "just" £625,000.

However, it won't all be supercars; at the other end of the motoring scale, Clarkson Hammond and May will also be driving three-wheeled Reliants.

Clarkson, Hammond and May obviously don't have access to the Top Gear test track anymore, but that doesn't mean they'll be forced to do all their testing on the road.

Instead, they're expected to use a number of different motor racing circuits, including the Autodromo Internacional Algarve in Portugal.

On Twitter, Clarkson posted a video of the P1 racing down the track with the filming helicopter trying to keep up. The caption was "We’re going to need a faster helicopter".

Clarkson's salary hasn't been revealed, but the new show is said to have a budget of £160 million.

Spread over 36 episodes, that's 4.5 million a show – more than four times the budget of Top Gear when Clarkson, Hammond and May were presenting it.

With such a large budget, the trio could blow up more than 1,125 caravans an episode, hold 54 car football matches or fire 375 Reliant Robins into space.

Daily Telegraph