Let's get the big thing out of the way first: Amazon Prime and Top Gear are two names that people constantly mash together in their heads, but they’ve never actually lived under the same roof. It’s one of those Mandela Effect things in the streaming world. You remember Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, and James May leaving the BBC after that infamous "fracas" involving a cold meat platter and a producer named Oisin Tymon. You know they went to Amazon. But they didn't take the Top Gear name with them.
The BBC owns that brand. They guard it like a dragon sitting on a pile of gold coins.
When the trio landed at Amazon in 2015, they had to start from scratch. That’s how we got The Grand Tour. But if you go onto your Amazon Prime Video app right now and search for "Top Gear," you’ll see something interesting. You won't see the new stuff. You’ll see a confusing mishmash of licensed seasons from the BBC era, usually tucked behind an extra subscription like BBC Select or Freevee. It’s a licensing nightmare that confuses almost everyone who just wants to see a Reliant Robin flip over.
The messy divorce that changed car TV forever
The breakup wasn't clean. When Clarkson was fired in 2015, the BBC didn't just lose a host; they lost a global cash cow that brought in roughly £50 million a year. Amazon saw the gap. They didn't just want a car show; they wanted a reason for people to pay for Prime memberships. Jeff Bezos reportedly spent about $250 million for three seasons of The Grand Tour. That is an insane amount of money for three guys falling over in the mud.
Honestly, the early days of the "Amazon Prime Top Gear" era—as fans incorrectly called it—were weird. The lawyers were everywhere. The BBC legal team basically told the guys they couldn't do anything that looked too much like the old show. They couldn't have a "Star in a Reasonably Priced Car." They couldn't use the Stig. They couldn't even use the word "Stig." They couldn't have a leaderboard on a wall that looked too much like the old one.
So they built a giant tent. They moved it around the world. It was expensive, bloated, and occasionally brilliant.
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Meanwhile, back at the BBC, Top Gear was struggling to find its soul. They tried Chris Evans (not Captain America, the British radio guy). It was a disaster. He shouted too much. The chemistry was non-existent. Then came Matt LeBlanc, who was surprisingly good, but he was a fish out of water living in the UK. It took years for the BBC to find the right rhythm again with Freddie Flintoff, Paddy McGuinness, and Chris Harris.
What you can actually watch on Amazon Prime right now
If you’re looking for the classic "holy trinity" era on Prime, you’re mostly looking at The Grand Tour. But here is the breakdown of how the licensing actually works because it’s a total mess.
- The Grand Tour: This is the direct spiritual successor. It’s Amazon’s baby. You get the specials, the high-production values, and the bickering.
- The BBC Top Gear Archives: Amazon often hosts older seasons of Top Gear (Seasons 14 through 25, usually), but they frequently move behind paywalls. One month they are free with Prime, the next they require a "Discovery+" or "BBC Select" add-on.
- The Solo Projects: This is where the Amazon/Top Gear connection actually gets interesting. Amazon realized that Clarkson, Hammond, and May are brands unto themselves. That’s why we have Clarkson’s Farm, James May: Our Man in..., and Richard Hammond’s Workshop.
The BBC version of Top Gear is currently on hiatus. After Freddie Flintoff’s horrific crash at the Dunsfold Aerodrome in late 2022, the broadcaster decided to "rest" the show. It’s a polite way of saying they don't know how to make it safe or relevant anymore without risking someone's life.
Why the "Amazon Era" felt different
There’s a specific vibe to the content produced during the Amazon years that separates it from the BBC days. On the BBC, there were rules. Public service broadcasting requirements meant they had to at least pretend to provide "consumer advice." You’d see reviews of hatchbacks.
Amazon didn't care about hatchbacks.
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They wanted "tentpole" content. They wanted the guys to go to Mauritania or the Sahara and blow things up. This led to a shift where The Grand Tour eventually scrapped the studio audience entirely to focus on "The Specials." Fans loved the travelogues, but something was lost. The small-scale silliness of the original Top Gear—buying a car for £1,500 and driving it through a supermarket—got replaced by $5 million cinematic shots of supercars in places no one can actually visit.
The E-E-A-T Factor: Real data on the streaming shift
According to Parrot Analytics, when The Grand Tour launched, it was one of the most in-demand shows globally, surpassing even Game of Thrones in certain weeks for digital expression. Amazon proved that the audience followed the talent, not the brand name. The "Top Gear" name stayed with the BBC, but the "Top Gear" audience migrated to Prime.
However, the "Brand" still matters. If you look at Google Trends, "Top Gear" still out-searches "The Grand Tour" by a significant margin. The legacy of the name is just too strong. People still search for "Amazon Prime Top Gear" because they expect the giant to have bought the whole history of the show, which isn't how international licensing works.
Misconceptions about the move to streaming
People think Amazon "saved" the show. In reality, they bought a specific version of it.
One thing people get wrong is the idea that the BBC "lost" the hosts. The BBC actually tried to keep Hammond and May. They offered them huge sums to stay and host the show with someone else. But the pair stayed loyal to Clarkson. It’s a rare bit of genuine friendship in a very fake industry.
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Another misconception? That The Grand Tour is just Top Gear with a bigger budget. It’s actually more restrictive in some ways. Because it’s a global platform, some of the very British humor that made the original show work had to be sanded down. It became "Mid-Atlantic." It became a bit more scripted. You can feel the weight of the production.
Actionable steps for the savvy viewer
If you want to recreate the peak Top Gear experience using your Amazon Prime account and other tools, here is exactly how to do it without getting lost in the menus.
- Check the "Freevee" section first. Amazon owns Freevee (formerly IMDb TV). They often cycle older Top Gear episodes there for free with ads. It’s the cheapest way to see the 2000s-era specials.
- Use the "Watchlist" for Clarkson’s Farm. If you liked the chemistry of the old show, this is actually the closest spiritual successor. It’s better than The Grand Tour because it feels real again.
- Don’t buy individual seasons. Licensing changes so fast on Prime that you might buy Season 10 only for the whole series to move to a different "Channel" next month.
- Look for the "International" versions. Prime often carries Top Gear America or Top Gear Australia. They aren't the same, honestly. They feel like tribute bands. Skip them unless you’re desperate.
The reality of Amazon Prime and Top Gear is that they are two orbits that never quite collided. One is a legacy brand currently sitting in a garage at the BBC, gathering dust. The other is a massive streaming platform that bought the creators of that brand and let them grow into something else entirely.
If you're looking for the soul of the old show, don't look for the title. Look for the three guys who can't seem to stop bickering about gearboxes. That's where the real "Top Gear" lives, regardless of what the logo on the screen says. Check your Prime Video "Channels" list to see if BBC Select is offering a free trial; that's usually your best bet for a weekend binge of the actual classic episodes before the subscription kicks in.