Who Are the New BBC Top Gear Hosts? An Explainer

Rory Reid is the editor-in-chief of the British tech and automotive news site Recombu, where he's spent years doing video reviews of new cars. He's also the mind behind the YouTube channel Fast, Furious & Funny, which specializes in a hilarious (and very Top Gear-esque) combination of car reviews, outrageous challenges, goofy car builds, and outright pranks. Prior to Recombu, Reid, 36, was a host on the Sky1 TV show Gadget Geeks, and has covered cars and tech for Bloomberg. Reid was chosen for Top Gear through the BBC's open audition process spearheaded by Chris Evans. Judging by his highlight reel, he's not afraid to be as edgy and up-front as we've come to expect from Top Gear.

From Road & Track

German driver Sabine Schmitz is well-known to racing fans, but her presence or absence from the new Top Gear lineup was uncertain until today. A professional racer who most recently competed in the 24 Hours of Daytona, Schmitz, 46, is best known as the "Queen of the Nurburgring," taking tourists on laps of the famous German racetrack. She's also a famous face from the Clarkson days of Top Gear—she set a 'Ring lap time driving a Ford Transit van that beat a time set by Jeremy Clarkson in a Jaguar S-Type in Series 6, Episode 7 of the show.

The sole American among Top Gear's new cast, LeBlanc will undoubtedly be a familiar face for U.S. fans—having most famously starred as Joey Tribbiani on the 1994-2004 NBC sitcom Friends. But don't let his TV star resumé fool you: LeBlanc, 48, is a die-hard car and motorcycle enthusiast, and he set the fastest lap time on old Top Gear's Star in a Reasonably Priced Car, driving the manual-transmission Kia, of course.

LeBlanc was the first new co-host to officially join Chris Evans, announced on February 4th, and he's the only non-British host ever featured on the BBC version of the show.

A famous and fabulously wealthy British TV and radio host, Evans, 49, was the first new host chosen for Top Gear after Clarkson, May and Hammond departed, all the way back in June 2015. As a BBC morning radio show host, Evans's energetic and irreverent style made him the UK's highest-paid entertainer by the year 2000. He's amassed a jaw-dropping car collection, including a 1961 Ferrari 250 California that he let James May drive on Season 18, Episode 7 of Top Gear.

Despite some apparent turmoil with BBC in the early stages of the Top Gear reboot, Evans seems to be genuinely excited about the new direction of the show. Rumor has it that Evans will be the sole main presenter of the show, with the rest of the cast rotating in and out for various segments.

An experienced racing driver, Chris Harris is perhaps best known for his exquisitely produced and outrageously entertaining YouTube series, Chris Harris on Cars. Harris, 41, started out at the British magazine Autocar, doing road tests, reviews, and columns, with more recent writing appearing at places like Jalopnik and right here at Road & Track. Long rumored to be joining the Top Gear team, his presence seemed to be clandestinely confirmed by a tweet sent out by Chris Evans earlier this month.

A bit of a surprise among the Top Gear cast, Jordan, 67, was first rumored to be joining the team earlier this month. Once a Formula 1 driver himself, Jordan was the founder and owner of Jordan Grand Prix, a racing team which operated from 1991 to 2005, Jordan once employed such drivers as Damon Hill, Nigel Mansell, and even Michael Schumacher for a time. He served as BBC's chief F1 racing analyst from 2009 until 2015. According to reports, Jordan was insisted upon by Chris Evans, and the BBC hopes that including him will give Top Gear expanded motorsports access and international appeal to racing fans.

Little is known about The Stig, the only Clarkson-era cast member to stay on for the new Top Gear reboot. Some say his skin has the texture of a dolphin's, and that wherever you are in the world, if you tune your radio to 88.4, you can actually hear his thoughts. Some say that he lives in a tree, and that his sweat can be used to clean precious metals. Some say that on really warm days, he sheds his skin like a snake, and that for some reason, he's allergic to the Dutch. Some say that his voice can only be heard by cats, and that he has two sets of knees. Some say he naturally faces magnetic north, and that all of his legs are hydraulic.

All we know is, he's called The Stig.