The Top Gear Botswana Special remains one of the most iconic episodes in the history of the long-running BBC motoring show. Airing in 2007, it marked the first time Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, and James May were tasked with buying second-hand cars and driving them across an entire country. Unlike previous challenges, this was a grueling 1,000-mile journey across the Makgadikgadi Salt Pans and through the Okavango Delta.
And so they crawled across the rest of the pan. The Mercedes, towing the dead Lancia like a sled of shame, with Hammond's Opel tied behind that , forming a three-car train of catastrophe. The sun set. The salt turned pink, then purple, then black. top gear botswana cars
| Presenter | Car | Key Weakness | Reason It Survived/Failed | |------------|-----|--------------|----------------------------| | | 1985 Lancia Beta Coupé (2000 IE) | Rust, electrics, everything | Died quickly (failed brakes, electrics, gearbox). Repaired with a welded diff, but caught fire. | | Richard Hammond | 1981 Opel Kadett (Vauxhall Astra mk1) | Rust, cooling, head gaskets | Surprisingly tough. Only needed minor fixes; finished the trip. | | James May | 1985 Mercedes-Benz 230E (W123) | Boring, heavy, slow | Winner. Indestructible. Cruise control worked perfectly. Only got stuck in deep mud (pulled out by the Opel). | The Top Gear Botswana Special remains one of
Oliver is the only car of the three that returned to the UK. Hammond loved the car so much he had it shipped back, restored it, and it has since appeared in several of his solo projects [ 0.5.2 ]. 3. The 1985 Mercedes-Benz 230E (James May) The Outcome: Oliver is the only car of