Like Top Gear on steroids - rave reviews for The Grand Tour's opening show

This Morning presenter Phillip Schofield tweeted: “Watching right now!! So long in the delivery but SO worth it! There’s money dripping from the screen & the boys are having a ball!!”

The Sun’s Bizarre editor Dan Wootton, who said he is no motoring enthusiast, described it as “one of the most exhilarating TV series ever”.

He added: “Being sacked from the BBC was the greatest thing that ever happened to Clarkson and co - and the world of cars on TV.”

The paper’s TV editor Andy Halls tweeted: “Bravo @JeremyClarkson and co. @thegrandtour is an absolute triumph. Dripping with extravagance and wouldn’t have expected anything less.”

The Telegraph’s Ed Power said the show “announced itself in spectacular fashion” but added that it was “an awful lot” like Top Gear.

“Squint and you might have been watching a certain popular BBC motoring franchise, though you wonder what all the newbies attracted by the hype will have made of three middle-aged men chugging around a test circuit,” he added.

Daily Express TV reporter Neela Debnath said the first episode resembled a “Hollywood blockbuster” and said it was “basically like Top Gear on steroids”.