Adam Carolla to host Speed channel pilot

Exclusive: Speed Channel is revving up an auto-centric pilot set to star comedian and car buff Adam Carolla.

Carolla will star along with Pulitzer Prize-winning Wall Street Journal auto writer Dan Neil, ex-NBA star John Salley and Matt Farah from The Smoking Tire website.

The untitled Speed show comes from Mandt Bros. Prods., which also just scored a series order from Food Network for the docu-series “Ice Brigade.”

Carolla has been eager to do an auto-based TV show for some time. He previously hosted NBC’s attempt to adapt U.K. hit “Top Gear,” but that version never made it to air. (He’s not involved in the U.S. “Top Gear” that just recently launched on the History channel.)

The untitled show has been described as a cross between “Top Gear” and Fox Sports Net’s old “The Best Damn Sports Show Period” franchise, which featured Salley was a regular.

According to the pitch, the show will feature news and conversation centered around cars, as well as pre-recorded features shot on the road.

Carolla, whose podcast frequently rates among the most-downloaded on the web, has been behind series such as “The Man Show,” “Crank Yankers” and “Too Late with Adam Carolla.”

As for the other Mandt. Bros. project, “Ice Brigade” centers on the daily work at Ice Sculptures Ltd., a high-end ice sculpting business based in Grand Rapids, Mich.

Food Network has ordered six episodes of the series, which was initially developed as a one-time special.

Neil and Michael Mandt, who head up Mandt Bros., are behind the independently produced Showtime laffer “Next Stop for Charlie” – which was picked up by the cabler for 10 episodes. Series is based on their 2006 feature “Last Stop for Paul.”

The Mandt Bros. also exec produce ESPN’s “Jim Rome is Burning” and the Jeff Dye-hosted web series “It Happened for Real.”

At Syfy, the Mandt Bros. created “Destination Truth.”