Jeremy Clarkson has sparked quite a row among electric car fans over his comments during the latest special of The Grand Tour.
The full-length special, titled One for the Road, marked the last time Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May worked together after a 22-year working relationship.
The trio headed to Zimbabwe for their final trip, with Clarkson behind the wheel of a 1982 Lancia Montecarlo, while Hammond opted for a 1974 3-litre Ford Capri and May opted to drive a 1974 Triumph Stag .
Of course, the African journey was far from straightforward, as all three men experienced problems with their vehicles, from overheated engines to faulty shock absorbers.
However, all three vehicles made it to the end of the special as Hammond, May and Clarkson crossed the border into Botswana to finish filming on the island of Kubu – the same location where their first Top Gear show took place 17 years ago.
One of the biggest talking points from the special came during the last few miles of their trip, when Clarkson decided to share with Amazon viewers one of the many reasons why he and his castmates decided to delay their time on the show.
Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May headed to Zimbabwe for their last major tour
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Hearing the noise coming from the Lancia’s engine, Clarkson spoke into a camera held up in his car: “It’s still popping and banging nicely from the back. Can you hear that? I love that sound.”
Mimicking the roar, Clarkson continued: “And all of you who are growing up with your electric cars today, you’ll never hear that.
“There are many reasons why we are involved in this show, but one of the main ones for me is that I’m just not interested in electric cars.
“They’re just white goods, they’re washing machines, they’re microwaves. You can’t review them, you can’t enjoy them.
Jeremy Clarkson and James May in One for the Road
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“They’re just s**ts,” he concluded his brilliant review of electric vehicles.
Clarkson is no stranger to voicing his less-than-positive views on electric vehicles, but the case appears to have angered several electric vehicle enthusiasts, who have accused the Grand Tour host of spreading falsehoods on a global scale.
Taking to X, the former Twitter, one person raged at the former Top Gear star: “As always this mischievous old wind tunnel is wrong. And that’s what we love about him. Like your old grandpa talking about the old days. Bless him Meanwhile, eVs are great to drive.
“Faster (by a lot) than classic cars, instant torque, really nice, attractive and super reliable. All this doesn’t poison Jeremy’s grandkids. Too bad he doesn’t care, but that’s our Jezza.”
And motoring journalist and YouTuber Jonny Smith echoed this when he ranted: “B******s. Pure, fierce, glaring bulls*** feeding those who think electric vehicles threaten their right to driving classic cars with interesting engines. They are not exclusive.
“One actually feeds the other (because who would drive a crappy 1970s Lancia every day). And I bet most of those who agree drive a boring 10 year old diesel family car.
“Comments like this should be put in the same bin as ‘women can’t park’ and ‘being a vegetarian is a bit gay’. You are a legend and an inspiration @JeremyClarkson but let’s not breed manure.”
Clarkson hasn’t publicly addressed the EV backlash, but several of his fans jumped to his defense on social media.
“Jeremy Clarkson is right about electric cars,” one fan said simply, before another added: “#TGTOneForTheRoad Jeremy Clarkson on electric cars. ‘They’re just white tech… You can’t judge that. You can’t enjoy them .they’re just s***.’
“Sure. I’ll keep driving my nice fast gas guzzler, thanks.” (sic)
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