No, really, we’re not making this up, because the British Broadcasting Corporation just announced Chris Evans as the lead presenter of the all-new Top Gear line-up.

Apparently, the 49-year-old signed a three-year contract with BBC and production will start in the following weeks (these guys move fast). Anyway, there is no word about other presenters, but we’re guessing that Hammond and May will not be joining him, as they still root for their friend, Jeremy Clarkson.

Evans, after he previously declared that replacing Clarkson on Top Gear is “100% not true” and “100% never going to happen”, is now excited about the opportunity stating: “I’m thrilled, Top Gear is my favourite programme of all time. Created by a host of brilliant minds who love cars and understand how to make the massively complicated come across as fun, devil-may-care and effortless. When in fact, it’s anything but and that’s the genius of Top Gear’s global success”.

Of course, being professional is part of Evans agenda and he has no intention of messing things up. Granted, he acknowledges that he has some big shoes to fill, adding: “I promise I will do everything I possibly can to respect what has gone on before and take the show forward.”

The BBC is happy that they eventually found someone they believe is up to the task of hosting Top Gear, while Kim Shillinglaw, Controller, BBC Two and BBC Four, was thrilled about the move, stating:

“I am so delighted that Chris will be presenting the next series of Top Gear. His knowledge of and passion for cars are well-known and combined with his sheer inventiveness and cheeky unpredictability he is the perfect choice to take our much-loved show into the future. Chris is a huge fan of Top Gear and has great respect for the craft and work ethic of one of the best production teams in the world. He knows the phenomenal attention to detail it takes to make a single sequence of Top Gear, let alone a whole series. He is already full of brilliant ideas and I can’t wait for him to get started.”

So, there you have it. An all new era of Top Gear is about to begin. Before you throw rocks at Evans, keep in mind that he’s quite the car guy and the bloke really knows his automobiles. He has a 250GT California Spider – among other cars -and if that’s not the definition of “exquisite taste”, we don’t know what is.

 

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Photos via The Admiralty