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Episode 2 of The Grand Tour will feature knives, explosions, guns, and also cars

Following an immensely successful debut, The Grand Tour will follow up its first episode with exciting, dangerous things. Based on the trailer above, the episode will start peacefully enough with the trio driving up to the tent in South Africa with a convoy of off-road trucks. However, it seems each segment will be much more exciting. Right at the start of the trailer, there are clips of the Aston Martin Vulcan, a 7.0-liter, 820-horsepower V12 supercar, which will likely be the car tested at the "Ebola-drome" this week. Of course the car is communist because it doesn't have a V8. Then things get steadily more dangerous through the trailer. James May is shown as a somewhat unwilling participant at some sort of drifting exhibition. He apparently doesn't like tire smoke in the evenings. We also see that the trio went to Jordan for another segment. This is when we get a glimpse of Richard Hammond playing with large knives. Immediately following are clips of some sort of car chase challenge with large SUVs and luxury sedans, during which James May shoots an assault rifle out the back of an Audi S8. The shooting results in big explosions. It's worth a look yourself, to get in the mood for the next episode which hits Amazon on Friday. Related Video:

Aston Martin Vantage Roadster limited edition gets 100-year-old styling cues

Aston Martin's oldest-known car is turning 100 years old in 2021, and the British firm is celebrating the occasion with a limited-edition Vantage Roadster built by its Q division. It was commissioned by the company's oldest dealer. Located in Walton-on-Thames in England, distributor Aston Martin HWM worked with Q to bring some of the 1921 A3's design cues into the 21st century. The process was easier said than done considering the A3 and the Vantage share little more than four wheels, and creating a completely new car from the ground up was seemingly not an option.  Instead, the commemorative car is a Vantage Roadster that wears a specific grille with a black mesh insert, a bright aluminum frame, and a replica of the emblem fitted to the A3. It also gains redesigned fender inserts painted in a shade of gray that echoes the A3's hood and fitted with black strap above a "No_3" emblem. Most of the Vantage's exterior trim is black, and bronze brake calipers visible behind 20-inch wheels add a finishing touch to the look. Obsidian Black leather dominates the cabin, though Chestnut Tan inserts and stitching ensure the Vantage isn't fully blacked-out. One of the coolest design features found in this limited-edition convertible is the use of brass for three of the dials found on the center stack. They create a visual link between the 2021 Vantage and the 1921 A3. Aston Martin made no retro changes under the hood, which is just as well considering the A3 used a 1.5-liter four-cylinder engine rated at 11 horsepower. Power for the Vantage comes from a 4.0-liter V8 borrowed from Mercedes-AMG and twin-turbocharged to develop 503 horsepower and 505 pound-feet of torque. It spins the rear wheels via an eight-speed automatic transmission. Aston Martin quotes a 3.6-second sprint from zero to 60 mph and a top speed of 190 mph. For context, the A3 made headlines in 1923 by lapping the Brooklands track at 84.5 mph. The 1920s-inspired Vantage is on sale now, though Aston Martin chose not to reveal how many units will be made, how much each one will cost, and whether any will be sold in America. We've contacted the firm for more details. As for the A3, it's not for sale, even if you ask nicely and bring a big wad of cash; it's owned by the Aston Martin Heritage Trust. It will be shown at the annual Concours of Elegance taking place in September 2021 near London. Related video: Aston Martin DBX crossover review

Inside the Aston Martin Heritage Trust, the company's secret museum

The Aston Martin Heritage Trust Museum has been in existence since 2002. It houses the official archives of the Aston Martin Lagonda Company, as well as those of the Aston Martin Owners Club, at the behest of which the Museum was founded back in 1998. It also houses a rotating collection of distinctive and historically significant Aston Martin vehicles, cherry picked from a century of the automaker's exquisite existence. Unfortunately for those besotted with the brand, as I am, the AHMT is located on the periphery of the exurbs of nowhere, in a restored 14th century barn on a dirt road, blocks off the river in the wee Midlands village of Drayton St. Leonard. An address is not published. The only indication that you might be in the right place is an almost intentionally innocuous government tourism placard, placed somewhat near the turnoff. "We used to maybe get a hundred visitors a year before they put up the sign," says AMHT Curator Donna Bannister, an American of equally mysterious provenance. "Now we get almost a hundred per month." Lucky are the souls who find the AMHT (my cabby wasn't among them; I had to walk a bit), because it houses, in its cramped Middle Aged quarters, some real treasures. Greeting me when I entered was a bare-metal-nosed 1921 A3, the oldest existing Aston Martin in the world, which was bought at auction in 2000 and restored to driving condition via the generous underwriting of Sheik Nasser of Kuwait, who is apparently a huge AM collector. "It won Kop Hill in 1923," Bannister says. "We recently took it back there, and to the Windsor Concours d'Elegance. Of course the Royals are big fans of the Aston brand." There's also a 1934 Ulster BLB 684, the only remaining one in a 2+2 configuration. This car is a driver as well. "Club members can hire it out," Bannister says. "Though because it's quite difficult to drive – it has the clutch in the center, and the gas and brake on either side – only a few do." There is a passel of more recent notables, like the 2000 V12 Vanquish cutaway, an auto show maquette meant to demonstrate the fruits of Ford's huge investment in the brand at the start of this century. There's a pre-production, gloss white 2013 Vanquish Volante, which was used for photos and promotion as well, but never registered due to some inconsistencies in the paint. There are display engines from the DB4GT, the Lagonda V8, and the twin-supercharged Vantage (swoon!).