Amazon rolls out Jeremy Clarkson for Amazon Prime Air promo

Amazon wants you to know that it’s still seriously invested in drone delivery services. How invested? Well it’s rolled out former Top Gear star Jeremy Clarkson to do a promo video showing off how Amazon Prime Air will work in the near future.

As Clarkson — who signed with Amazon after being axed from the BBC — explains, the ecommerce giant has developed a new delivery drone prototype which combines vertical takeoff with through-the-air flying ability.

According to Amazon, the drone featured in the ad can fly up to 15 miles (around 24kms), with promised delivery times of under 30 minutes.

Read more: Amazon Prime Air: just another pipe dream or technological breakthrough?

If the drones are approved by regulators, they will fly at an altitude of under 400 feet (roughly 122 metres) and according to Amazon “will take advantage of sophisticated ‘sense and avoid’ technology, as well as a high degree of automation, to safely operate beyond the line of sight to distances of 10 miles or more”.

On a dedicated FAQ site, the ecommerce megalith does add that the drone shown in the ad is just one of multiple prototypes that it’s testing.

“We have more than a dozen prototypes that we’ve developed in our research and development labs,” Amazon says. “The look and characteristics of the vehicles will evolve over time”.