A teaser trailer for the new 2017 series of Top Gear has been released, giving viewers an early glimpse into what the show looks like with Matt LeBlanc taking a central role.
The light-hearted promo also features Chris Harris and Rory Reid who both, like LeBlanc, featured in last year’s Top Gear series and appear to be taking bigger role this time round.
Cars confirmed to feature in the new Top Gear series by the new trailer includes the Aston Martin DB11, the 1,036bhp Ferrari FXX K track car and the Avtoros Shaman – an eight-wheeled all-terrain vehicle.
LeBlanc, Harris and Reid likely to appear in all episodes
The trailer and other promotional images released prior indicate that the 24th series of Top Gear will have LeBlanc, Harris and Reid as the core presenting trio, with LeBlanc taking the lead role. LeBlanc reportedly signed a two-series contract worth an estimated £1.5 million last summer.
The previous series of Top Gear broadcast last year was the first without Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May at the helm. In their place, there were as many as six presenters, with Chris Evans taking on the main presenter role, while Le Blanc was co-host and Harris and Reid made irregular appearances.
But the show received criticism from the press and viewers for its muddled format and Chris Evans' style of presenting. Prior and during the broadcast of the series, various reports indicated that Evans didn’t get on with co-presenters or members of the production team.
Not long after the previous series of Top Gear finished airing, Chris Evans announced he was leaving the show, even though he originally signed a three-year contract to front the programme. The BBC opted to not replace Evans, paving the way for LeBlanc and others to take more prominent roles.
Whether Sabine Schmitz or Eddie Jordan - who also presented certain episodes of the last series of Top Gear – will feature in any of this year’s episodes remains unclear for now.
A broadcast date for the new series of Top Gear has not been confirmed yet, but the BBC motoring show is likely to be on during this spring.
