LONDON -- Motoring fans are set to get a new online community later this year, courtesy of the ex-Top Gearpresenting team of Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May.
DriveTribe, which currently has a website and Twitter and Facebook presence but no additional content, is a joint project with tech entrepreneur Ernesto Schmitt. Former Top Gearproducer Andy Wilman is also on board.
SEE ALSO:Jeremy Clarkson shows just how different the former 'Top Gear' team looked when they were youngThe media platform will be divided into different "tribes," each with its own "unique characteristics and personality," according to a statement emailed to Mashableby Schmitt.
Bloggers, writers, videographers and celebrities will host each section, generating and curating content for that tribes' audience.
Hammond, May and Clarkson, who have been working on a new car show for Amazon Prime following Clarkson's suspension from the BBC, will contribute too. Users will be able to create their own tribes.
“What we are looking to do is build a next-generation vertical that is dedicated to motoring, and that really combines content, social and commerce,” Schmitt told Variety.
The venture employs 20 people now, with the team expected to grow to 60 by the end of the autumn. The company will be based in London.
DriveTribe will feature an engine that directs content to targeted users based on their age, gender, location and interests, TechCrunchreports, pushing content to people's social timelines on Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and so on.
Clarkson, Hammond and May have been a presenting partnership for many years.Credit: Rex Features via AP Images“Gamers have got Twitch, travelers have got TripAdvisor and fashion fans have got, oh, something or other too," Richard Hammond said. "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.”
He promised Varietythat the presenters will engage daily as they produce "bite-sized chunks of media."
Clarkson, meanwhile, offered a typically Clarkson-esque comment on the launch, remarking: “I didn’t understand DriveTribe until Richard Hammond said it was like YouPorn, only with cars."
Have something to add to this story? Share it in the comments.