When will The Grand Tour: Sand Job be released in the UK?

Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May return for The Grand Tour: Sand Job, a special new episode of the trio’s popular motorsport programme due to air on Prime Video.

Debuting in 2016, The Grand Tour was conceived after a much-publicised scuffle resulted in Clarkson leaving the BBC and its popular car magazine show Top Gear. His fellow co-hosts Hammond and May quickly followed suit and before the engine of their previous show had time to cool, the threesome had been snapped up by Prime Video and production for The Grand Tour was underway.

Initially, The Grand Tour followed a similar format to its BBC predecessor, with Clarkson, Hammond and May reviewing cars, engaging with a live audience in a hangar-type space and embarking on various car-related quests. This changed after the show’s third series, with its remaining episodes instead sending its presenters on various racing adventures worldwide which were later released as a series of specials.

With the show nearing the finishing line, we now have details of the first of its final special episodes. Here’s everything we know about The Grand Tour: Sand Job.

When will The Grand Tour: Sand Job be released?

The Grand Tour: Sand Job will debut on Friday, 16 February on Prime Video.

Is there a trailer for The Grand Tour: Sand Job?

A trailer has now been revealed for The Grand Tour: Sand Job, which teases the long and difficult journey that Clarkson, Hammond and May go on in order to complete the Paris-Dakar race themselves.

The trailer shows some of the hurdles that the trio face along the way, including Hammond's Aston Martin struggling in the desert terrain and breaking down in multiple ways — like his air conditioning turning off. But there are a number of funny moments too in the trailer, showing that the penultimate Grand Tour special will be one that will delight viewers.

Watch the trailer for The Grand Tour: Sand Job:

What happens in The Grand Tour: Sand Job?

The Grand Tour: Sand Job will take Clarkson, Hammond and May on a new trip to the African country of Mauritania where the hosts must replicate the famous Paris to Dakar rally.

However, like all of their TV treks, there’s a catch.

“Instead of bespoke Dakar racers, the boys must complete their journey in cheap modified sports cars,” explains the show’s official synopsis. “Their journey begins with the world’s longest train and sees them tackle the killer Sahara and perilous river crossings whilst protecting their precious fuel bowser from exploding.”

This special episode of The Grand Tour will see the trio forced to endure red-hot temperatures and harsh sand terrane to finish a challenge that Prime Video has described as “a true test for both the presenters and their cars.”

Is The Grand Tour: Sand Job the last episode of season 5?

No. The Grand Tour: Sand Job is not the final episode of season 5 - it’s the penultimate show.

The final episode of The Grand Tour season 5 will debut later in 2024 but a concrete release date has yet to be pinned down. All we know is that it will take Clarkson, Hammond and May to Zimbabwe.

The decision to end the series comes after Clarkson admitted that producers behind the show had run out of ideas about where to send them.

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

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