The new series will once again be anchored by three hosts with diverse backgrounds: men's magazine editor Yann Larret-Menzeno – a.k.a. Le Tone (shown at left), actor/comedian Philippe Lellouche (middle) and Le Mans veteran Bruce Jouanny (right). Naturally, the show will also get its own incarnation of The Stig.
The new French Top Gear will be broadcast alongside its British equivalent on France's RMC Decouverte channel beginning in the first quarter of next year.
Top Gear UK hosts Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May have a long history with France and its people, including Clarkson and Hammond finding themselves on the wrong end of a three-month ban for speeding within its borders while filming a special last year. France has also routinely figured into the hosts' playful barbs – see the video below for an example – as has indeed pretty much every other culture the series has ever visited or discussed.
Top Gear has already franchised its highly successful formula to other nations, including the US and South Korea. Some iterations have gone on to be modest hits in their own right, while others, like Top Gear Russia and Australia have sputtered and folded.
