Top Gear Botswana Cars 〈90% SAFE〉

It was during this leg that the Lancia finally began to die. The heat was too much. Yet, in a display of mechanical sympathy that defied logic, Clarkson managed to keep it running. He famously discovered that the car would only start if he poured water over the starter motor, a routine he performed daily.

: The cars faced deep sand and river crossings. Hammond famously "drowned"

The climax of the episode saw the trio racing against the sunset. Clarkson’s Lancia was held together with duct tape and hope, May’s Mercedes was cruising effortlessly, and Hammond was pushing the little Opel to its absolute limit. top gear botswana cars

Throughout the trip, Hammond babied the Opel. He cleaned it, talked to it, and fixed it with care. By the time they reached the final stretch—a race to the border along the "animal roads"—Hammond had realized that he couldn't leave the car behind.

: One of the world's largest salt flats. To prevent their thin-tired cars from breaking through the "creme brulee" crust into the ooze below, the presenters had to strip their cars of almost all weight, including doors and interior panels. It was during this leg that the Lancia finally began to die

Oliver was the breakout star of the special. Being incredibly light, it floated over the thick crust of the Makgadikgadi Salt Pans where heavier cars sank. It suffered one major disaster when it sank in a river crossing, drowning the engine. Hammond painstakingly cleaned out the water, and against all odds, Oliver fired back to life. The car performed so well that Hammond fell in love with it, officially imported it back to the UK, and still owns it today. 3. James May’s 1985 Mercedes-Benz 230E

The Top Gear Botswana Special, which first aired in November 2007 as part of Season 10, is widely considered the blueprint for the modern motoring television special. Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, and James May were set a seemingly impossible challenge: buy a used, standard, two-wheel-drive car for less than £1,500 in South Africa, and drive it 1,000 miles across the harsh, unforgiving terrains of Botswana. He famously discovered that the car would only

The Lancia was recently rediscovered in Botswana in 2020 by a YouTuber, showing its unique battle scars from the special. 2. Richard Hammond: 1963 Opel Kadett ("Oliver")

Tasked with finding a car for less than £1,500 that had no off-road pedigree, the trio selected three very different machines: