Skip to main content

Sabine Schmitz, Chris Harris may join Chris Evans on new Top Gear

The Stig Top Gear Hennessey VelociRaptor
Image used with permission by copyright holder
A new version of Top Gear is set to launch in May with radio personality Chris Evans at the helm, but so far there’s been little news about who will host the show with him. It’s been presumed that the new Top Gear will have three hosts just like the old show, and a new report brings up some interesting possibilities.

Evans will be joined by Sabine Schmitz and Chris Harris, says The Telegraph. While they’re not exactly household names, the pair are very familiar to car fans. Automotive journalist Harris is primarily known for his YouTube videos, while Schmitz has a reputation as the queen of the Nürburgring, and previously appeared on Top Gear. She coached former host Jeremy Clarkson around the ‘Ring in a diesel Jaguar S-Type, then tried to beat him in a Ford Transit van, and appeared in a Top Gear vs. The Germans special.

Recommended Videos

Schmitz and Harris will also reportedly be joined by former Formula One driver David Coulthard. While all three definitely have the requisite car knowledge and driving skills, The Telegraph claims the producers are uneasy. Schmitz and Harris aren’t well known by the wider public, and some involved with the show reportedly believe Coulthard lacks on-screen charisma.

Please enable Javascript to view this content

The new show’s executive producer, Linda Clark, also recently left after just five months on the job. She had replaced Andy Wilman, who left with Clarkson, Richard Hammond, and James May in the mass exodus last year. Clarkson was fired after he punched a producer, and the other hosts left along with him. The BBC quickly worked to relaunch Top Gear with Evans, a certified car fanatic in his own right.

The ousted Top Gear hosts will make a rival car show for Amazon Prime. Amazon reportedly paid around $250 million for 36 episodes over three years, outbidding Netflix and Apple for the trio. Rumors that the show will be called “Gear Knobs” remain unconfirmed. It’s expected to premier sometime next year.

Stephen Edelstein
Stephen is a freelance automotive journalist covering all things cars. He likes anything with four wheels, from classic cars…
Honda unveils sleek electric sedan and SUV prototypes at CES 2025
Honda 0 Saloon and Honda 0 SUV prototypes.

Honda’s next-generation electric vehicles are a step closer to production. At CES 2025, the automaker unveiled prototypes of the 0 Saloon and 0 SUV, the first two of its 0 Series EVs that will start rolling off assembly lines in Ohio next year.

The two EVs follow 0 Series concept cars Honda unveiled at CES 2024. These are closer to what buyers can expect to see in showrooms, hence the label of “prototype” rather than “concept.” How close exactly? When Honda unveils a prototype, that vehicle generally makes the transition to production with minimal changes. But that would be particularly remarkable here.
They still look like concept cars

Read more
Digital Trends’ Top Tech of CES 2025 Awards
Top Tech of CES

Las Vegas is overrun. Every billboard in town is shouting about AI, hotel bar tops now sport a sea of laptops, and after hours The Strip is elbow to elbow with engineers toting yard-long beers.

That means CES, the year’s biggest tech bacchanalia, has come to town, and Digital Trends editors have spent the last four days frolicking among next year’s crop of incredible TVs, computers, tablets, and EVs. We’re in heaven.

Read more
Sony and Honda’s Afeela 1 EV makes more sense at CES than in the real world
Afeela 1 front quarter view.

The Sony car is almost here. After its creation via a joint venture with Honda in 2022 and two years’ worth of prototypes, the electronics giant’s Afeela brand is finally taking reservations for its first electric vehicle, with deliveries scheduled to start in 2026.

But will it be worth the wait? Coinciding with the opening of reservations, Sony Honda Mobility brought updated prototypes of the Afeela 1 (as it’s now officially known) to CES 2025, representing what California customers (Afeela is only taking reservations in that state) who put down a $200 refundable deposit can expect when they take delivery.

Read more