Richard Hammond’s garage restored James May’s Triumph Stag, then after a short drive the wheels fell off

Richard Hammond restored the Triumph Stag that James May used for the last-ever Grand Tour special, but it didn’t go well.

The car was in fairly terrible shape after the show, and there was a lot that Hammond had to do to fix it.

It looked mint after being restored, but it clearly wasn’t – because the wheel fell off just minutes later.

Still, there’s a very good reason why this is one of the most important cars ever featured on The Grand Tour.

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This Triumph Stag is one of the most important Grand Tour cars

James May has driven, bought, sold, and featured countless cars on Top Gear and The Grand Tour, but this is arguably one of the most important ones.

That’s because the Triumph Stag, along with Jeremy Clarkson’s Lancia Montecarlo and Richard Hammond’s Ford Capri GXL, was the protagonist of the final ever Grand Tour episode starring the iconic trio.

For the last ‘Clarkson-era’ Grand Tour, aired in September 2024, the trio drove three of their favorite cars across Zimbabwe.

A simple, nostalgia-infused road trip, which ended in Botswana, on the very same island in the very same desert where it all started.

Nearly 20 years previously, they filmed the Botswana Special, which many credit as the turning point that transformed Top Gear from a regular Sunday show into a global phenomenon.

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Obviously, a road trip across Zimbabwe isn’t the same as a road trip, say, from Monte Carlo to Cannes, which is why the Stag required extensive work after its return to England.

The car was restored by Richard Hammond and his team from the Smallest Cog, which is also the name of the show on Discovery Plus.

But clearly that was still not enough because, minutes after taking off in his newly restored car, James May realized the wheel had just fallen off.

This is relatively uncommon for Clarkson, Hammond, and May

Jeremy Clarkson, James May, and Richard Hammond have driven dozens of cars for Top Gear and Grand Tour specials.

They drove them, crashed them, and battered them, but they also often developed a bond with them.

And yet, amazingly, they generally got rid of them quite quickly.

We can probably count the number of cars they kept from the Specials on the fingers of two hands.

Back in the Top Gear era, the cars were property of the BBC, but the presenters were allowed to buy them after the show if they wanted to.

And they apparently never really wanted to.

Top Gear and Grand Tour fans will be familiar with ‘Oliver’, a 1963 Opel Kadett that Richard Hammond bought for a Top Gear Special in Botswana nearly 20 years ago, but the list doesn’t get much longer than that.

Most of the other cars used for these specials were sold on.

Or, in rare cases, abandoned.

And the same goes for the cars from the Grand Tour, and in this case, we have to remember that the vehicles were purchased by the production company that was, in turn, owned by the trio.

Out of all the cars featured in the Grand Tour, James May has only kept two: this Triumph Stag, and the Beach Buggy from the Namibia Special episode titled The Beach (Buggy) Boys.

All the cars featured on Grand Tour Specials and road trips

Here’s a complete list of all the second-hand vehicles that the trio bought specifically for Grand Tour adventures and specials:

Season 1

• Episode 7 and 8 The Beach ‘Buggy’ Boys (Namibia, 2016) – Three modified VW beach buggies

• Episode 11 Italian Lessons (France, 2017) – Maserati Biturbo S Coupé, Maserati 430 Saloon, Maserati Zagato Spyder

Season 2

• Episode 6 Jaaaaaaaags (Colorado, US, 2018) – Jaguar XJR, XK8 Convertible, 420G, XJ6, XJ-S

• Episode 11 Feed the world (Mozambique, 2018) – Mercedes-Benz 200T Estate, Nissan Hardbody, TVS Star motorcycle

Season 3

• Episode 2 and 3 Colombia Special (Colombia, 2019) – Fiat Panda 4×4 Sisley, Jeep Wrangler, Chevrolet K250

• Episode 6 Chinese Food for Thought (China, 2019) – Mercedes-Benz S600, Cadillac STS, BMW 750iL

• Episode 7 Well Aged Scotch (Scotland, 2019) – Alfa Romeo GTV6, Lancia Gamma Coupe, Fiat X 1/9

• Episode 8 International Buffoons’ Vacation (Nevada, US, 2019) – International Harvester S series, Fleetwood Pace Arrow, National RV Tropi-Cal 6350

• Episode 13 Survival of the Fattest (Mongolia, 2019) – Self-constructed Land Rover-based vehicle named ‘John’

Season 4

• Episode 1 Seamen (Vietnam and Cambodia, 2019) – Scarab Thunder, PBR boat (replica), 1939 Wooden Cruiser

• Episode 2 A Massive Hunt (Madagascar and Réunion, 2020) – Bentley Continental GT V8, Ford Focus RS, Caterham 7 310R

• Episode 3 Lochdown (Scotland, 2021) – Lincoln Continental Mark V, Buick Riviera, Cadillac Coupe de Ville, Chrysler Voyager, Chrysler PT Cruiser, Pontiac Aztek, Ford Shelby Mustang GT500, Chevrolet Camaro Z/28, Dodge Charger R/T

• Episode 4 Carnage a Trois (England and Wales, 2021) – Citroën CX Safari, Matra Murena, Renault Avantime, Citroën Berlingo, Renault Scénic, Peugeot 407, Citroën SM

Season 5

• Episode 1 A Scandi Flick (Norway, Sweden, and Finland, 2022) – Subaru Impreza WRX STI, Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VIII, Audi RS4

• Episode 2 Eurocrash (Slovakia, Hungary, Poland, and Slovenia, 2023) – Chevrolet SSR, Mitsuoka Le-Seyde, Crosley CC Convertible, Ford Popular Hot Rod, Škoda 1100 OHC

• Episode 3 Sand Job (Mauritania, 2024) – Maserati GranCabrio, Aston Martin DB9 Volante, Jaguar F-Type

Season 6

• Episode 1 One for the Road (Zimbabwe and Botswana, 2024) – Triumph Stag, Ford Capri GXL, Lancia Montecarlo