'Top Gear' season premiere set for March 12

Feb. 23 (UPI) -- The new season of the British, car-themed docu-series Top Gear is to debut March 12, BBC America announced Thursday.

Matt LeBlanc, Chris Harris and Rory Reid have returned to host the show, which will also feature frequent appearances from race-car driver Sabine Schmitz and commentator Eddie Jordan.

Split and X-Men star James McAvoy will guest star on the season premiere.

"In this new, seven-part season, Top Gear's hosts journey across wildest Kazakhstan in cars with half a million miles on the clock, tackle old-school motorsport in Cuba, blast through the U.S.'s wild west in the latest convertible super-cars, and attempt to turn an ugly South Korean van into a luxury yacht to rival Monaco's finest," the cable network said in a press release.

Former Top Gear host Jeremy Clarkson was fired from the show more than a year ago after a dust-up with a producer, and his longtime co-hosts James May and Richard Hammond refused to go on without Clarkson.

LeBlanc, Harris, Reid and Chris Evans took over for a season, but Evans left after reports of low ratings and a lukewarm reception from fans.

Clarkson, May and Hammond are now working on the Amazon docu-series called The Grand Tour.