Skid marks, Autonation and even Cary McCarface… Jeremy Clarkson reveals he is struggling to come up with a name for his new motoring show that isn’t already taken 

  • Jeremy Clarkson revealed he is still struggling to think of name for show 
  • New show on Amazon Prime will be a direct rival to the BBC's Top Gear 
  • Motoring show presented by Clarkson, James May and Richard Hammond
  • Among suggestions since dismissed were 'Skid Marks' and 'Autonation' 

Jeremy Clarkson has revealed the hardest part of making his new motoring show is naming it.

Writing in his weekly column in the Sunday Times the Yorkshire-born presenter said: 'When I first signed up with Amazon Prime to make a new motoring show I knew all sorts of problems lay ahead.

'There was one problem, however, that I hadn't even considered. And it has turned out to be the biggest of the lot: Choosing a name.'

Writing in his weekly column Yorkshire-born presenter Jeremy Clarkson (pictured) has revealed the hardest part of making a new motoring show for Amazon Prime to rival the BBC's Top Gear has been naming it

Writing in his weekly column Yorkshire-born presenter Jeremy Clarkson (pictured) has revealed the hardest part of making a new motoring show for Amazon Prime to rival the BBC's Top Gear has been naming it

Writing in his weekly column in the Sunday Times, the Yorkshire-born presenter said: 'When I first signed up with Amazon Prime to make a new motoring show I knew all sorts of problems lay ahead'

Writing in his weekly column in the Sunday Times, the Yorkshire-born presenter said: 'When I first signed up with Amazon Prime to make a new motoring show I knew all sorts of problems lay ahead'

In the column he wrote that he was worried if they opened up naming the show to the public as a competition, they might find themselves in the same situation as a new polar research vessel which was recently named RRS Boaty McBoatface following an online vote.

Clarkson added that in order to avoid the inevitable 'Cary McCarface' he and the team were wracking their brains trying to come up with a name which is not either already taken or legally contentious. 

He said: 'Every morning I'd make a £7,000 call to the lawyer with an idea, and every afternoon I'd get a £7,000 reply saying the name was already in use by someone in New Zealand, or France or Ukraine.

'Prime Torque. Autonation. Skid mark. Everything was a no-no.' 

The trio were recently spotted out and about attending a car auction - possibly for vehicles for their new show

The trio were recently spotted out and about attending a car auction - possibly for vehicles for their new show

Other names he says he considered included 'Speedbird', 'Speedwolf', 'Ironbird' and 'Wolfbird' - and one director even suggested 'Three C**** Driving Along' - but they decided it might lose them the family market.

Earlier this month Clarkson, 56, revealed the the new show cannot have the word 'gear' in it because of 'legal reasons'.

The former Top Gear host recently featured in a trailer for the still untitled show which is due to be aired in the autumn.

In it he, along with co-presenters Richard Hammond and James May, suggested titles for the show including 'Tripod' and 'Auto-mates'. 

All of the ideas, including Clarkson's 'Selling England by the Pound' and 'Watcher of the Skies', which are album and song titles by prog-rock band Genesis, were shot down.

Clarkson then took to Twitter where he explained the show could not have the word 'gear' in it.

The former Top Gear host featured in a trailer for the still untitled show which is due to be aired in the autumn

The former Top Gear host featured in a trailer for the still untitled show which is due to be aired in the autumn

He tweeted: 'Thanks for your suggestions. But be aware: for legal reasons, we cannot use a name with the word "gear" in it.'

Twitter users put forward their own show title suggestions, which included 'Three Guys, A Car and a Pizza Place' and '2 Men and a Hamster'. 

A few weeks ago the trio were spotted filming in Marrakech, Morocco, for the motoring programme.

It is their next venture after leaving Top Gear following 13 years of service on the show together. 

Clarkson was sacked after punching a producer on the show in a row about steak, although he has now officially apologised to producer Oisin Tymon - after settling a six-figure claim.

Clarkson flew into a rage after being told he could not order a sirloin steak after a day of filming in March last year, calling Mr Tymon a 'lazy, Irish ****' during a confrontation at a hotel in North Yorkshire. 

The fracas led to him being sacked from Top Gear, with Hammond and May jumping ship shortly afterwards in support of their friend. 

Clarkson was sacked from Top Gear after punching a producer on the show in a row about steak, although he has now officially apologised to producer Oisin Tymon - after settling a six-figure claim

Clarkson was sacked from Top Gear after punching a producer on the show in a row about steak, although he has now officially apologised to producer Oisin Tymon - after settling a six-figure claim

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