- ewan mcgregor and charley boorman's latest motorcycle adventure documentary, long way up, premieres on friday, september 18, on apple tv+.
- the show will follow mcgregor and boorman for 11 episodes as they travel on electric motorcycles from the southern tip of south america to los angeles.
- in this exclusive clip, ewan mcgregor visits san diego ev conversion shop ev west, where his 1954 volkswagen beetle is getting the electric treatment.
if you are waiting with bated breath for ewan mcgregor's latest motorcycle adventure documentary, long way up, to drop, we’ve got a little something that might whet your appetite. the folks at apple tv+ have shared this exclusive clip from the series, which will air in 11 parts on fridays this fall, starting with the first three episodes on september 18. the show will follow mcgregor and his longtime friend and collaborator charley boorman as they ride a pair of electric harley-davidson livewire motorcycles ( with roughly 150 miles of range) north from ushuaia at the southern tip of south america to los angeles.
in this exclusive clip, presumably filmed in the lead-up to the crew’s departure for the trip, mcgregor is seen paying a visit to ev west, an electric conversion shop north of san diego, ca. mcgregor says he’s hoping to pick the brain of michael bream, his friend and the owner of ev west. you’ll have to watch the show to hear that conversation, but we do get a glimpse at mcgregor’s teal 1954 oval-window volkswagen beetle, which bream is giving the electric treatment. mcgregor’s bug shares a garage bay with a first-gen 911, presumably also undergoing an electric transformation.
mcgregor proclaims his gutted beetle looks "brilliant" and "so trick," which we have to assume is a good thing. we see what looks like a battery pack installed in the beetle's frunk, which suggests that the beetle will retain its rear-motor layout. mcgregor also shows off the keychain the shop has assigned to his car: a lego obi-wan kenobi figurine.
this show marks mcgregor and boorman's third long-haul motorcycle adventure. the first, a trip from london through asia and north america to new york city, was documented in the tv series long way round. the second was a journey from the northern tip of scotland to cape town, south africa, detailed in a tv series and a book called long way down. based on what we've seen so far, long way up looks to be the kind of adventure jeremy clarkson et al. might have if they were a kinder, gentler bunch. sounds perfect to us.