Top Gear: Botswana Special
Encyclopedia
Top Gear: Botswana Special was an episode of the popular British television series Top Gear, first broadcast on 4 November 2007 on BBC Two
, as part of series 10
. In this full-length film, the three presenters, Jeremy Clarkson
, Richard Hammond
and James May
, travel to Botswana
to buy a car for less than £1500, and use it to travel from the Zimbabwean border to the Namibian border, a trip of 1,000 miles.
for delivering children to school and driving up leafy lanes, rules for the challenge stipulated that the car purchased to cross the spine of Africa had to be two wheel drive, and not designed in any way for off-road use. Clarkson bought a 1981 Lancia Beta Coupe, May a 1985 Mercedes-Benz 230E
and Hammond a 1963 Opel Kadett, which he nicknamed 'Oliver' (all three cars bear South African license plates, specifically those of Gauteng Province
). Starting from the Botswana - Zimbabwe border, they then had to drive 1,000 miles (1,600 km) to the Namibian border. James, who was 'mechanically confident', accidentally drove into Zimbabwe, a place where the BBC is not allowed, much to Clarkson and Hammond's amusement.
If at any time a presenters' car broke down and could not be restarted, he would have to complete the journey in a Volkswagen Beetle
. While the Beetle turns out to be a suitable vehicle for such a challenge, it is also the presenters' collective least favourite car of all time. Hammond very nearly had to use the Beetle but he got his car to work before heading to camp at the edge of the Makgadikgadi.
Challenge 2: Cross the Makgadikgadi Pan
successfully. The first section of the Makgadikgadi salt pan has a thin solid crust, under which lies a mud like substance (Which Clarkson refers to as "rotted prehistoric fish"). Almost immediately, May and Clarkson's cars began to break through the crust, despite shedding a lot of weight to start off with. Desperate to shed even more weight, they each stripped down their cars to the basic shell, removing most of the interior trim and most of the panels. (At this point, Clarkson refers to his car as a "Lancia Beta Coupe - superleggera
!") Hammond, who had by now grown attached to 'Oliver' was reluctant to remove anything. However the car was light enough to cross the salt pan, only removing the spare tyre and an unclarified "...something else!". Clarkson's car broke down frequently, seemingly with electrical issues. For day two on the salt pans, dust became the problem, rather than the "gunk" underneath the salt crust. May and Clarkson had to cover their faces and re-dress to avoid choking on the dust, as each driver was now open to the elements due to having a bare shell. Hammond did not have to take such measures as he did not drastically modify his car earlier. Clarkson's car broke down twice in the Salt Pans. When he thinks the Lancia will not get going again he seems to be torn between 'certain death' or using 'that Beetle.'
Shortly before beginning their trip onto the Makgadikgadi Pan, the Top Gear trio informally encountered Botswana's then-Vice President (now President), Seretse Ian Khama, who displayed no qualms regarding the trio's journey across the flats. However, he did seem taken aback by the fact that the trio were attempting this in their old, used, two-wheel drive cars.
Challenge 3: Time trials round a rally course by "The Stig's African cousin". Hammond's Opel achieved a time of 1:12 before being beaten by May's Mercedes-Benz with a 1:06. Clarkson's car however, failed to start as it caught fire, so The Stig walked away.
Challenge 4: Cross the Okavango Delta
. the presenters were told to make their cars 'wild animal proof'. May was able to replace several Mercedes-Benz parts, due to the car's popularity in Africa. Clarkson however could not find any spare parts for his Lancia Beta so he jury-rigged new doors from soft drink cans, wood and corrugated iron, and attached a megaphone. May painted 'All Adders Are Puffs' on Hammond's Opel, and 'Lite Bite Cafe' on Clarkson's Lancia Beta. At the same time, Clarkson and Hammond were hiding a cowbell as well as several cuts of meat (including a cow's head) inside May's car, to attract wildlife. Hammond's Opel sank while attempting to ford a river, necessitating replacement of most of the car's electrics.
Final results: Both Hammond and May made it to the border before Clarkson, who had suffered two more breakdowns during the final run. Although Hammond's Opel had survived relatively intact (the only major repair being the car's electricals), and May's car had hardly broken down at all, both Clarkson and May, to Hammond's horror and bewilderment, declared the winner to be the Volkswagen Beetle, which had completed the trip with no documented mishaps at all.
On the next episode after the airing of the special, Hammond announced that he had retained his Opel and had it restored and shipped to the United Kingdom. He remains in possession of it and it has appeared on at least one further episode of Top Gear (the lorry driving challenge) and multiple episodes of Richard Hammond's Blast Lab
.
Similar in the 2007 Polar Challenge Special
, the show's credits included each crew member names with the words "Archbishop Desmond" (e.g. "Archbishop Desmond Clarkson, Archbishop Desmond Hammond, and Archbishop Desmond May...") attached to the start, in homage to Archbishop Desmond Tutu
, Nobel Peace Prize winner in 1984.
criticized the BBC for allowing Top Gear to film in the Makgadikgadi pans, which were claimed to be environmentally sensitive.
Responding to accusations by conservationists of "leaving scars across the Makgadikgadi salt pans by driving vehicles across them", the BBC denied that they had gone near any conservation areas, and had followed the advice of environmental experts.
BBC Two
BBC Two is the second television channel operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It covers a wide range of subject matter, but tending towards more 'highbrow' programmes than the more mainstream and popular BBC One. Like the BBC's other domestic TV and radio...
, as part of series 10
Top Gear (series 10)
Top Gear returned for a tenth series, containing 10 episodes, broadcast between 7 October 2007 and 23 December 2007. It was claimed that between the filming of the ninth and tenth series, rival motoring magazine Fifth Gear broke into the Top Gear premises and burnt down the Cool Wall...
. In this full-length film, the three presenters, Jeremy Clarkson
Jeremy Clarkson
Jeremy Charles Robert Clarkson is an English broadcaster, journalist and writer who specialises in motoring. He is best known for his role on the BBC TV show Top Gear along with co-presenters Richard Hammond and James May...
, Richard Hammond
Richard Hammond
Richard Mark Hammond is an English broadcaster, writer, and journalist most noted for co-hosting car programme Top Gear with Jeremy Clarkson and James May, as well as presenting Brainiac: Science Abuse on Sky 1.-Early life:...
and James May
James May
James Daniel May is an English television presenter, journalist and writer. He is best known for his role as co-presenter of the award-winning motoring programme Top Gear alongside Jeremy Clarkson and Richard Hammond....
, travel to Botswana
Botswana
Botswana, officially the Republic of Botswana , is a landlocked country located in Southern Africa. The citizens are referred to as "Batswana" . Formerly the British protectorate of Bechuanaland, Botswana adopted its new name after becoming independent within the Commonwealth on 30 September 1966...
to buy a car for less than £1500, and use it to travel from the Zimbabwean border to the Namibian border, a trip of 1,000 miles.
Overview
Challenge 1: Buy a used car for up to £1500. Mocking the use of "Chelsea Tractors"Sport utility vehicle
A sport utility vehicle is a generic marketing term for a vehicle similar to a station wagon, but built on a light-truck chassis. It is usually equipped with four-wheel drive for on- or off-road ability, and with some pretension or ability to be used as an off-road vehicle. Not all four-wheel...
for delivering children to school and driving up leafy lanes, rules for the challenge stipulated that the car purchased to cross the spine of Africa had to be two wheel drive, and not designed in any way for off-road use. Clarkson bought a 1981 Lancia Beta Coupe, May a 1985 Mercedes-Benz 230E
Mercedes-Benz W123
W123 is the internal chassis-designation Mercedes-Benz used for their executive line of cars, manufactured between 1976 and 1985.The W123 models surpassed their predecessor, the W114 and W115 models, as the most successful Mercedes, selling 2.7 million cars before replacement by the W124 after 1985...
and Hammond a 1963 Opel Kadett, which he nicknamed 'Oliver' (all three cars bear South African license plates, specifically those of Gauteng Province
Gauteng
Gauteng is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. It was formed from part of the old Transvaal Province after South Africa's first all-race elections on 27 April 1994...
). Starting from the Botswana - Zimbabwe border, they then had to drive 1,000 miles (1,600 km) to the Namibian border. James, who was 'mechanically confident', accidentally drove into Zimbabwe, a place where the BBC is not allowed, much to Clarkson and Hammond's amusement.
If at any time a presenters' car broke down and could not be restarted, he would have to complete the journey in a Volkswagen Beetle
Volkswagen Beetle
The Volkswagen Type 1, widely known as the Volkswagen Beetle or Volkswagen Bug, is an economy car produced by the German auto maker Volkswagen from 1938 until 2003...
. While the Beetle turns out to be a suitable vehicle for such a challenge, it is also the presenters' collective least favourite car of all time. Hammond very nearly had to use the Beetle but he got his car to work before heading to camp at the edge of the Makgadikgadi.
Challenge 2: Cross the Makgadikgadi Pan
Makgadikgadi Pan
The Makgadikgadi Pan is a large salt pan in the middle of the dry savanna of northeastern Botswana. It is one of the largest salt flats in the world...
successfully. The first section of the Makgadikgadi salt pan has a thin solid crust, under which lies a mud like substance (Which Clarkson refers to as "rotted prehistoric fish"). Almost immediately, May and Clarkson's cars began to break through the crust, despite shedding a lot of weight to start off with. Desperate to shed even more weight, they each stripped down their cars to the basic shell, removing most of the interior trim and most of the panels. (At this point, Clarkson refers to his car as a "Lancia Beta Coupe - superleggera
Superleggera
Superleggera is an automobile chassis construction technology developed by Felice Bianchi Anderloni of Italian coachbuilder Carrozzeria Touring. The company was located just north of Milan, near Alfa Romeo, Italian Citroen, and the former Isotta-Fraschini plant...
!") Hammond, who had by now grown attached to 'Oliver' was reluctant to remove anything. However the car was light enough to cross the salt pan, only removing the spare tyre and an unclarified "...something else!". Clarkson's car broke down frequently, seemingly with electrical issues. For day two on the salt pans, dust became the problem, rather than the "gunk" underneath the salt crust. May and Clarkson had to cover their faces and re-dress to avoid choking on the dust, as each driver was now open to the elements due to having a bare shell. Hammond did not have to take such measures as he did not drastically modify his car earlier. Clarkson's car broke down twice in the Salt Pans. When he thinks the Lancia will not get going again he seems to be torn between 'certain death' or using 'that Beetle.'
Shortly before beginning their trip onto the Makgadikgadi Pan, the Top Gear trio informally encountered Botswana's then-Vice President (now President), Seretse Ian Khama, who displayed no qualms regarding the trio's journey across the flats. However, he did seem taken aback by the fact that the trio were attempting this in their old, used, two-wheel drive cars.
Challenge 3: Time trials round a rally course by "The Stig's African cousin". Hammond's Opel achieved a time of 1:12 before being beaten by May's Mercedes-Benz with a 1:06. Clarkson's car however, failed to start as it caught fire, so The Stig walked away.
Challenge 4: Cross the Okavango Delta
Okavango Delta
The Okavango Delta , in Botswana, is the world's largest inland delta. It is formed where the Okavango River empties onto a swamp in an endorheic basin in the Kalahari Desert, where most of the water is lost to evaporation and transpiration instead of draining into the sea...
. the presenters were told to make their cars 'wild animal proof'. May was able to replace several Mercedes-Benz parts, due to the car's popularity in Africa. Clarkson however could not find any spare parts for his Lancia Beta so he jury-rigged new doors from soft drink cans, wood and corrugated iron, and attached a megaphone. May painted 'All Adders Are Puffs' on Hammond's Opel, and 'Lite Bite Cafe' on Clarkson's Lancia Beta. At the same time, Clarkson and Hammond were hiding a cowbell as well as several cuts of meat (including a cow's head) inside May's car, to attract wildlife. Hammond's Opel sank while attempting to ford a river, necessitating replacement of most of the car's electrics.
Final results: Both Hammond and May made it to the border before Clarkson, who had suffered two more breakdowns during the final run. Although Hammond's Opel had survived relatively intact (the only major repair being the car's electricals), and May's car had hardly broken down at all, both Clarkson and May, to Hammond's horror and bewilderment, declared the winner to be the Volkswagen Beetle, which had completed the trip with no documented mishaps at all.
On the next episode after the airing of the special, Hammond announced that he had retained his Opel and had it restored and shipped to the United Kingdom. He remains in possession of it and it has appeared on at least one further episode of Top Gear (the lorry driving challenge) and multiple episodes of Richard Hammond's Blast Lab
Richard Hammond's Blast Lab
Richard Hammond's Blast Lab is a children's television programme made by DCD Media-owned September Films and Hamster's Wheel Productions for the BBC and shown on the CBBC Channel and CBBC outputs on both BBC One and BBC Two....
.
Similar in the 2007 Polar Challenge Special
Top Gear: Polar Special
Top Gear: Polar Special was an episode of the popular series Top Gear, first broadcast on 25 July 2007 on BBC Two. It was an attempt by the BBC's Top Gear crew to be the first to drive a motor vehicle to the 1996 location of the Magnetic North Pole....
, the show's credits included each crew member names with the words "Archbishop Desmond" (e.g. "Archbishop Desmond Clarkson, Archbishop Desmond Hammond, and Archbishop Desmond May...") attached to the start, in homage to Archbishop Desmond Tutu
Desmond Tutu
Desmond Mpilo Tutu is a South African activist and retired Anglican bishop who rose to worldwide fame during the 1980s as an opponent of apartheid...
, Nobel Peace Prize winner in 1984.
Criticism
The Environmental Investigation AgencyEnvironmental Investigation Agency
The Environmental Investigation Agency is an NGO founded in 1984 by Dave Currey, Jennifer Lonsdale and Allan Thornton, three environmental activists in the United Kingdom. Its stated goal is to investigate and expose crimes against wildlife and the environment...
criticized the BBC for allowing Top Gear to film in the Makgadikgadi pans, which were claimed to be environmentally sensitive.
Responding to accusations by conservationists of "leaving scars across the Makgadikgadi salt pans by driving vehicles across them", the BBC denied that they had gone near any conservation areas, and had followed the advice of environmental experts.