Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Cars
  3. News

Top Gear host Chris Harris will race for Bentley

By

Chris Harris
Image used with permission by copyright holder
Talk about a packed resumé. It’s hard to imagine an automotive journalist who is also a television host and a race car driver, but Chris Harris ticks all of those boxes. He’s part of the squad that will host a new version of Top Gear due out next month, and over the years he’s shown off his considerable driving skills in some serious machinery.

This weekend, though, Harris won’t be engaging in Top Gear shenanigans or polishing off an article. He’ll be racing for Bentley in the opening round of the Blancpain Endurance Series Cup at the Monza circuit in Italy. And Harris will stick around for the season, which includes five races in all.

Recommended Videos

Harris will drive a Bentley Continental GT3, a stripped down, track-ready version of the Continental GT coupe. It uses a version of the 4.0-liter twin-turbocharged V8 available in the road car, tuned to 600 horsepower. The racer also ditches the road-going version’s all-wheel drive for rear-wheel drive, part of a drastic diet. The Continental GT3 weighs about 2,800 pounds, according to Bentley, compared to 5,060 pounds for a stock Continental GT V8.

The Blancpain Endurance Series Cup is a mid-level race series run entirely in Europe. It features mostly GT3 cars, which are based on production models and comply with a set of rules that emphasize (relatively) low cost and commonality with road cars. A U.S. analog is the Pirelli World Challenge, where Bentley runs a pair of Continental GT3 racers virtually identical to the ones that compete in Europe.

Harris will race with Bentley Team Parker Racing in the Pro-Am classes, which mixes professional and amateur drivers. The team will field two cars, alongside two cars from Bentley’s M-Sport factory team, which competes in the top Pro class.

Meanwhile, Top Gear is set to return next month after an overhaul following the departure of Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, and James May. Harris will host the show alongside Chris Evans, Sabine Schmitz, Eddie Jordan, and Rory Reid. The original Top Gear trio is working on a competing car show of their own for Amazon.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Stephen Edelstein
Stephen Edelstein
Contributing Editor
Stephen is a freelance automotive journalist covering all things cars. He likes anything with four wheels, from classic cars…
Mercedes-Benz G580 first drive: old-school off-roader goes electric
2025 Mercedes-Benz G580 from three quarter view.

American car buyers mostly know Mercedes-Benz as a luxury brand. But for decades, the automaker has also produced the tough, rugged G-Class (also known as the Geländewagen or G-Wagen), an SUV not afraid to get its leather upholstery muddy. And now, this iconic Mercedes is going electric.

The 2025 Mercedes-Benz G580 with EQ Technology — the final name of the SUV previously known as the EQG — isn’t the first electric off-roader. The Rivian R1S and R1T and GMC Hummer EV have proven that electric powertrains and off-roading are a great combination. But the electric G-Wagen is different because it’s based on an internal-combustion model — and a very traditional one at that.

Read more
Honda believes hydrogen semi trucks will make the case for fuel cells
Honda hydrogen fuel-cell semi truck.

Honda remains committed to hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles, but the market for those vehicles remains limited. So Honda is looking at other uses for fuel cells -- including commercial trucks.

To show how that could work, Honda converted a semi truck to fuel-cell power, replacing its diesel engine with three fuel-cell modules. Together, the three modules produce a combined 321 horsepower, and can propel the truck to a top speed of 70 mph. There's enough onboard hydrogen storage capacity for a 400-mile range with a full load, Honda claims.

Read more
Mercedes-Benz G580 vs Rivian R2: Is the much cheaper Rivian actually better?
2025 Mercedes-Benz G580 from three quarter view.

Mercedes-Benz has finally taken the wraps off of the new "Mercedes-Benz G580 with EQ Technology." Yeah, it's a mouthful, but it's basically a new electric G-Wagon. It looks a lot like the G-Wagon you know and love, but with an electric powertrain and a battery. It's not the only electric SUV out there, however, and there are some great ones -- like the Rivian R2.

Both the Mercedes G580 and the Rivian R2 have a lot going for them, but they also approach the electric SUV slightly differently. Is one better than the other? I put the two head-to-head to find out.
Design
The approach that the two vehicles take to design is quite different -- and you might like one better than the other.

Read more