The Holy Trinity

***The Holy Trinity*** is the first episode of *The Grand Tour* and the first of Series 1. It was released on Amazon Prime on 18th November, 2016.

If counted as a continuation of the trio's previous show, Top Gear, it is the 187th episode since the show's premiere in 2002, following the second series finale of James May's Cars of the People, and complements Series 23, Episode 1 in this respect.

## Synopsis

### Intro

The episode opens with Jeremy Clarkson leaving the BBC Office in London and flying to Los Angeles where he picks up a Fisker-Galpin Rocket Mustang, while "I Can See Clearly Now" is played by the Hothouse Flowers. He smiles as Richard Hammond and James May drive alongside in the Shelby GT350 Mustang and the Roush Stage 3 Mustang and they power their way through the California desert to Lucerne Valley. Once in the dessert, they are accompanied by a veritable flotilla of cars and a fly-over by the Breitling Jet Team.

The trio then greet the audience and viewers, and after introducing themselves and the tent which will travel from location to location with, they set about educating the American audience on the correct way to refer to the parts of a car. They stay that the show is a Car Show and kick off the first segment.

### Film

As much as the trio hate the Toyota Prius, technology from that car is now being used in the world's elite supercar companies, to make raw naked speed. Clarkson states that the best is the McLaren P1, while Hammond believes it to be the Porsche 918 Spyder. The duo then head for the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve in Portugal, where mechanics from McLaren and Porsche set about fettling the cars, while Clarkson and Hammond try to score points. Once ready, Clarkson and Hammond swap cars and head for some sighting laps, with Clarkson describing the 918 as "absolutely brilliant" for being playful and Hammond falling in love with the P1 despite it being savage. As they try to reverse their claims, they are interrupted by May, who claims to have brought the best hybrid hyper, the Ferrari LaFerrari. After he gives a quick review, the trio take the Hybrid Hypercar "Holy Trinity" for a play round the track before beginning the tests.

Clarkson and Hammond agree to have an Electric only drag race but this annoys May, as the LaFerrari couldn't use electric power only, due to it's KERS system, so he sits out. Despite both getting a good start, due to it's more powerful electric motors, the 918 clinches a victory over the P1. Afterwards, Hammond and Clarkson agree to use their cars in the real world, on the road, however May reveals that the LAFerrari was not taxed as road car, due to devaluation, so cannot be used as a road car. Clarkson and Hammond therefore blast the P1 and the 918 down the Portuguese countryside while May is forced to travel in a lorry with the LaFerrari.

The next morning, back at the track, the trio line the "Holy Trinity" up on the line. Despite difficulties with their complicated launch controls, each car wins the drag race, twice over, after 6 runs. Belgian Formula E racing driver Jérôme d'Ambrosio, performs practice laps, before moving swiftly to timed laps with speed traps activated on three corners. As the P1 is set to take it's lap, Clarkson bets that if it's not the fastest, then both Hammond and May can destroy his house. The speed traps show:

 Porsche 918 Spyder (Hammond)
 McLaren P1 (Clarkson)

Back in the tent The laps times are shown:

 Second
 Third

Hammond gloats that the 918 was the fastest and both he and May fulfil their promise, that since the P1 was the slowest, they would destroy his house.

### Track Test

Clarkson introduces the show's new test track, the "Eboladrome via a Ferrari 488 before testing a BMW M2 around the track. He praises the handling, speed and excitement, describing it as the Best M Car BMW has ever made. Back in the Tent, the trio introduce their new test driver, Mike Skinner—AKA "The American" who believes that anything that isn't American is basically Communist. He takes the M2 round the Eboladrome criticising it annoyingly but sets a lap of 1:26.2, making it the slowest M Car.

### Conversation Street

***Sting:** The trio are in deep discussion*

In a segment called "Conversation Street", the trio take to talking about motoring issues. The topic of discussion this week is James May being caught speeding – going 37 miles per hour.

### Celebrity Brain Crash

A feature, called "Celebrity Brain Crash" is introduced where the trio attempt to interview celebrities with a device used in the Royal Air Force, which they claim is the greatest air force in the world, leading to a dispute with the audience, before going on with the show. The first, Jeremy Renner, is seen to jump out of an aeroplane—only for his parachute to fail and he is "killed" by impacting the ground. Clarkson is nonplussed, because they have a back-up, believing that something might go wrong. As Armie Hammer walks to the tent, he is attacked and "killed" by a rattlesnake. Now looking for a celebrity, Clarkson recalls that Carol Vorderman is in the audience, having been at an airshow nearby. However, when they find her, she is "dead" in the tent.

## Production

As the episode was largely written as the premiere episode for the 23rd Series of *Top Gear*, filming was able to commence not long after the trio's commitments to the BBC had concluded in October 2015, just four months following its immediate predecessor and well in advance of a year prior to its premiere. Filming resumed in September of 2016 for the tent segments.

### Filming locations

Not including RAF Wroughton, the site of the Eboladrome, The Holy Trinity was filmed at the following locations:

* London, England
* Los Angeles, California
* Rabbit Dry Lake, California
* Portimão, Portugal

## Notes and references

1. ↑ Cars in the flotilla include: Alfa Romeo 4C, Artic Cat Wildcat X, Ariel Nomad, Aston Martin V8 Vantage S, Audi R8, Baja Jeep, Bentley Continental GT V8 S, BMW i8, BMW M5, Cadillac CTS-V, Cadillac CT6, Class 1 Baja buggy, Dodge Challenger Hellcat, Ford F-150 Raptor, Ford F-150 sand rail, Ford F-450, Ford Focus RS, Ford Ranger off road truck, Freightliner Pikes Peak, Jaguar F-type SVR, Jeep CrewChief 715, Jeep FC-150, Lamborghini Aventador SV, Lotus Elise, Mazda Miata Super20, Mercedes-AMG GT S, Mercedes G65 AMG, Mitsubishi Evo X Battlecar, Morgan 3-wheeler, Morgan Roadster, Need For Speed Porsche 911 Widebody, Nissan GT-R, Porsche 911 Carrera, Rolls-Royce Ascot Tourer, Vuhl 05 and the off-road Dodge Charger, Fast Attack Buggy, and Plymouth Road Runner from the Fast & Furious films.
2. ↑ The Breitling Jet Team is the largest civilian jet display squadron. They fly Czech-built Aero L-39C Albatrosses.