Fans of Clarkson, Hammond and May were treated to an appearance from the trio on James Corden's Late Late Show, where the comedian gave them a high-velocity quiz as they did circuits around a track at 100mph. Clarkson did rather well on the questions, until Corden caught him on the back foot by asking, "Do you miss Top Gear?" "Oooh," groaned Clarkson, "Ask me about idiots and politics."

What cars are featured?

In the opening episode, the trio compare three of the latest hybrid hypercars: the Ferrari LaFerrari, McLaren P1 and Porsche 918 Spyder.

Clarkson previously drove the P1 in an episode of Top Gear, while May tried the LaFerrari and Hammond the 918. However, this is the first time that they've tested the cars back-to-back.

Indeed, it's quite a coup for the new show, because the BBC tried and failed to get Ferrari, McLaren and Porsche to agree to a back-to-back test.

All three cars are limited-run models capable of more that 200mph, but the Ferrari is the most expensive, at £1.15 million. The McLaren costs £866,000, while the Porsche is "just" £625,000.

However, it won't all be supercars; at the other end of the motoring scale, Clarkson Hammond and May will also be driving three-wheeled Reliants.