Top Gear is set to return for a new season this summer and it will be the first without Matt LeBlanc and Rory Reid. The duo are being replaced by Freddie Flintoff and Paddy McGuinness and now we’re getting our first look at them on the show.
The short teaser clip doesn’t reveal much, but the video’s description says McGuinness decided to try and convince Chris Harris and Flintoff that the “ultimate second-hand family car is, in fact, a hearse.” He then apparently buys a 1995 Daimler hearse for $1,723 (£1,300 / €1,520) to prove it.
After making some modifications – including adding rally stripes, a rear wing and “lots of power” – the group puts the hearse to the test on a Welsh rally course. In typical Top Gear fashion, this goes horribly wrong as the hearse flips while taking a corner. All three hosts emerge apparently uninjured as Harris officially welcomes McGuinness to Top Gear.
Also Read: Matt LeBlanc Is Leaving Top Gear, Who Should Replace Him?
The clip looks pretty promising, but host chemistry rarely happens overnight. As modern Top Gear fans know, Jason Dawe was eventually replaced by James May. He, along with Jeremy Clarkson and Richard Hammond, turned Top Gear into the juggernaut it is today.
Following the Clarkson’s infamous fracas with producer Oisin Tymon, the three left the show to start The Grand Tour. In their wake, a new team was announced headed by Chris Evans who parted ways with the show after just six episodes.
It remains to be seen how well the new hosts will interact with each other, but Flintoff’s tenure has already been marked by an accident. Last month, the former cricketer crashed a Subaru Brat into hay bales and a tent while filming an episode in Mansfield.