Former 'Top Gear' hosts plan DriveTribe motoring community
Clarkson, May and Hammond will launch the site this fall.
With an Amazon series well underway, Jeremy Clarkson, James May and Richard Hammond are turning their attention to other projects. As Variety reports, they've teamed up with entrepreneur Ernesto Shcmitt and Top Gear executive producer Andy Wilman to build a community-driven motoring site. It's called DriveTribe and will launch this fall with a team of 20 full-time employees. The specifics are a little woolly, but the idea is that each "tribe" will be managed by a celebrity, writer or filmer like the Clarkson crew, creating and curating content for their fellow motorheads.
So whether you're into muscle cars or restored VW camper vans, the idea is that you'll be able to sign up and find not only a stream of relevant news, photos and videos, but also likeminded fans. Users will be able to contribute to the "tribes" and even set up their own, if they feel their favorite segment of car culture is underserved. Hammond explains:
"Gamers have got Twitch, travelers have got TripAdvisor and fashion fans have got, oh, something or other too. But people who are into cars have got nowhere. There's no grand-scale online motoring community where people can meet and share video, comments, information and opinion. DriveTribe will change that. And then some."
Clarkson, Hammond and May are currently filming a new show for Amazon Video, which is expected to premiere this fall. Hammond says the group will always be focused on longform television, but admits DriveTribe is a reaction to the public's desire for shorter, online-centric content. Top Gear might be popular, but it's not the sort of video people like to watch while they're waiting in line for a cup of coffee. DriveTribe could fill that void, and put the troublesome trio in front of even more eyeballs every day.
