Depending on how much of an optimist you are, January can often be a bit of a depressing month. Christmas is over. You're broke. There's no vacation planned any time soon. Worry not: At least Top Gear is returning. Jeremy Clarkson himself confirmed it to a fan via Twitter, stating that the next series would begin on January 23, or around the same date most of us have finally finished eating Christmas leftovers.

Oddly, the tweet has now disappeared, and Jalopnik points out that January 23 is actually a Thursday rather than the show's normal Sunday slot--so perhaps there's a late Christmas special on the way, just as there was earlier this year.

Speculation aside, there's plenty to look forward to in the new series. If you don't want spoilers, look away now--as Motorward has found plenty of evidence for some of the new season's features. Among them is a test of the new, seventh-generation Volkswagen Golf GTI, and another test of the McLaren P1--the British firm's new hybrid hypercar. The team also takes a trip to the Bathurst V8 Supercars race in Australia, and a much less powerful feature on the National MicroCar Rally in the U.K.

There also appears to be a coachbuilt cars test, with photos of a pair of Corvettes and the Alfa 8C and 8C-based Touring Superleggera Disco Volante floating around the internet, while Season 21's highlight will surely be a South East Asian roadtrip in locally-available trucks. If that doesn't brighten up the first few months of next year, we're not sure what will...

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