Richard Hammond roasts YouTubers and the cars they drive
YT: DRIVETRIBEThe Grand Tour’s Richard Hammond is pretty knowledgeable when it comes to all things cars and, after being exposed to some of the cars that top YouTubers are driving around, he had some choice comments for the stars in question.
Hammond, who originally made his name as a host on the BBC’s immensely popular Top Gear, has since moved over to Amazon Prime alongside long-time colleagues Jeremy Clarkson and James May. The trio also appears regularly on YouTube channel DRIVETRIBE, discussing all things motor vehicles.
Now, during a video uploaded to the DRIVETRIBE channel on May 24, the immensely popular presenter went through different YouTube stars one by one and looked at the cars they had bought. As fans of The Grand Tour will expect, he had some strong comments for some of them.
AmazonDespite the opportunity to poke fun at a host of internet celebrities, Hammond is actually pretty complimentary about quite a few, including Ken Block and Jay Leno. Leno’s car, for example, a 1954 Jaguar XK120, is described by Hammond as one of the finest cars ever made.
“Moving onto Jay Leno and his 1954 Jaguar XK120,” Hammond said. “Quite simply one of the most beautiful cars ever made and one of the best sports cars ever built. And that is a particularly fine one. I’ve watched I believe a video of Jay driving that thing and it is a special car.”
Thankfully, for viewers looking for a more cutting edge commentary, Hammond did poke fun at quite a few YouTubers for their wheels. These included Shmee150, whose McLaren Senna was described by Hammond – with a sharp intake of breath – as “a lot of money”.
On Rob Dahm’s Mazda RX-7 4 Rotor, Hammond had the following to say: “Wow! Yes! Because a rotor engine is such a solid, robust thing to start with, why not make it more complicated and more highly-stretched? I suspect that represents a good 15 to 30 seconds of unrivaled joy followed by a bang and lots of bits coming through the bonnet.”
Other cars discussed included Gigi Papasavvas’ Porsche 911 GT3 and Cleetus McFarland’s Leroy the Corvette. The former was praised by Hammond as a car, but criticized for its awful paint job, while McFarland’s motor was something of a guilty pleasure for the British TV presenter.
The YouTubers should probably listen to the comments made by Hammond as, if there’s one thing he’s proven with nearly 20 years of motoring journalism under his belt, it’s that he knows what he’s talking about.