Chris Harris
Biography of, and Q&A with, Chris Harris of BBC Two's Top Gear.
Published: 19 May 2016
Cars draw you in through aesthetics and technology like the best visual arts. And then you have the world of driving and operating them to enjoy afterwards.
Chris Harris is probably best known for his popular YouTube channel, Chris Harris on Cars, which he launched in 2014, established with the help longtime friend Neil Carey. It has already amassed over a quarter of a million subscribers, and the content has been viewed over 20 million times. His most popular video, which was uploaded at the end of 2014 and tests the LaFerrari, had almost 3 million views. Chris began his career in motoring journalism at UK-based Autocar magazine, becoming their official road-test editor. He started a website for fast cars the week Lehman Brothers went under in 2008, which obviously ended badly. He then looked to solve his new found indebtedness at Evo magazine, and then became a member of the Pistonheads.com crew, as well as a regular feature on YouTube’s DRIVE channel.
Q&A
Who would you say is your racing legend?
Walter Rohrl.
What is the first car you learnt to drive in?
Peugeot 205.
What is the fastest you’ve ever gone in a car and when? What does it feel like when you’re going that fast?
227mph. It feels very, very good.
What is the best car you’ve ever driven?
Best? BMW 320d. Most enjoyable? 1974 Porsche 911 3.0RS.
What car are you driving on a daily basis?
BMW M3.
What is your earliest car memory?
Being five years old in the back of my father’s BMW 323i.
How many cars do you own today? And do you have any favourites?
I think I have 12. You’d need a gun to separate me from my 1957 2CV.
What is you all time dream car?
Ferrari F40.
What is it about cars that fascinates you?
They draw you in through aesthetics and technology like the best visual arts. And then you have the world of driving and operating them to enjoy afterwards.
Who was the first person you’d told when you heard you’d got the gig on Top Gear?
My mummy.
What was your very first day of filming like for Top Gear?
Hard work but an amazing experience in a £5m Ferrari 250 TdF. Will take the memories to my grave.
Dream location to film in and why?
Yas Marina, Abu Dhabi. Great circuit for oversteer. You can film all night under the floodlights and if you finish early enough, the hotel (which sits on top of the circuit) has a night club which stays open till 4am.
Has filming with Top Gear taught you something you didn’t know about cars?
That if you jump a Mini four feet in the air, it tends to dislodge all the audio equipment that was supposedly bolted down.
