Top Gear Line-Up Set; There May Be Hope After All [News]

Top Gear host Chris Evans
Top Gear host Chris Evans

The next-generation Top Gear may not suck after all.

The BBC announced today that German driver Sabine Schmitz and British automotive journalist Chris Harris will join Chris Evans at the newly revamped juggernaut according to published reports in the U.K. Former Formula One driver David Coulthard, another Brit, has also been announced as a co-host, which brings the total number of presenters to four in perhaps another move to distance the new Top Gear from the iconic previous-generation Top Gear.

The 46-year-old Schmitz should be well known to Top Gear fans. The Nurburgring specialist – she won the overall 24 Hours of Nurburgring in 1996 and 1997 – appeared on two episodes. She tutored then-host Jeremy Clarkson to a sub-10 minute time around the ‘Ring in season five and then attempted to beat the time in Ford Transit van in season six. While she didn’t beat Clarkson’s time of 9:59, she was only off by nine seconds (10:08).

Here is her lap around the track in the Transit:

Harris is has written for a few auto magazines and websites including Autocar and Jalopnik and has his own YouTube channel. His channel has over 300,000 subscribers, making him a minor YouTube celebrity. Here is Harris doing what Top Gear could never do – get the Ferarri LaFerrari, the Porsche 918 and the McLaren P1 on the same track:

Despite his lack of celebrity, it’s easy to see how he would easily fit in with the Top Gear format.

Coulthard is the BBC’s Formula One commentator and former driver who raced in the series from 1994 to 2008. He has 13 wins and 62 podiums under his belt, although he never won the championship, his best result being runner-up to Michael Schumacher in 2001.

New host Evans has big shoes to fill as he tries to reinvent the show, which gained new heights of popularity with former host Clarkson and co-presenters Richard Hammond and James May. When Clarkson was fired following an altercation with a producer, Hammond and May declined to continue with the show and instead the trio were signed to put on a new car show for Amazon.

What do you think of the new Top Gear lineup? Start the conversation in the comments below.