Just as the newspapers are trying to involve Top Gear in some sort of diplomatic beef with India, the boys are preparing for the new series which, if TG magazine is to be believed, returns 29 January.

They just released an official trailer which does reveal some of the stories of season 18. So if you hate spoilers, don’t hit the jump.

Alright, so you’ve hit the jump, which means you want to know what to expect from the brand-new series of Top Gear. Well, it’s business as usual, with lots of fast cars sliding about at Dunsfold making massive smoke – the new Mercedes C63 Black is one of them – but it all seems more lively and exciting.

There will be a fair bit of explosions and challenges as well, including Richard in NASCAR and James lapping the test track in a plane. Oh, and you’ll meet Stig’s Italian cousin as part of a great super car challenge involving Lamborghini Aventador, McLaren MP4-12C and Noble M600.

If the video below failed to load, head over to Top Gear Transmission Blog. That’ll work, probably!