Bezos is ‘breaking bank’ for car guys

Amazon boss Jeff Bezos admitted he has shelled out big bucks to hire the brawling British TV star Jeremy Clarkson to star in a new reality franchise.

The Seattle billionaire was cagey about precise figures when asked in an interview, saying only that Clarkson — who was fired as host of the UK car show “Top Gear” af ter assaulting a producer — was “very, very, very expensive.”

Some media reports have estimated the pricetag for Clarkson coming to Amazon Prime’s streaming video service — whose hits have included Golden Globe winner “Transparent” — may have come as high as $250 million for a 36episode, threeyear deal.

“It can’t just be one show, it has to be a number of things,” Bezos told the UK’s Sunday Telegraph. “We have a lot of things in the pipeline, which I think viewers in the UK and around the world are going to love. And I think Clarkson’s new show is going to be one of those.”

Amazon’s asyetunnamed show will also feature cohosts James May and Richard Hammond along with producer Andy Wilman — and all of them are likely to get handsome payouts, Bezos hinted.

“They’re worth a lot and they know it,” he said.

Top Gear was a cash cow for the BBC, distributed in more than 100 countries before Clarkson’s violent outburst got it canceled.

The highstakes gambit is the latest for Bezos, who is looking to establish Amazon as a beloved entertainment brand, even as it faces criticism about its hardboiled business tactics.