Top Gear Botswana Special is widely considered the episode that defined the show’s legendary "special" format. Tasked with crossing 1,000 miles of African terrain in two-wheel-drive cars bought for under £1,500, Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, and James May chose vehicles that became more than just machines—they became characters with their own distinct narratives. The Three Contenders
Relics of the Salt Pans: The Top Gear Botswana Special If you ask any fan to name the definitive Top Gear adventure, the 2007 Botswana Special
Jeremy, seeing an opportunity, turned around. The Lancia’s front wheel dug in. CRACK . The sump hit a hidden ridge of salt rock. A black slick of oil spread across the white pan like an inkblot.
While it suffered from electrical issues and, predictably, had structural issues, the Lancia actually proved surprisingly resilient, lasting longer than expected. It became the symbol of "inevitable failure" that somehow kept going. top gear botswana cars
True to form, Jeremy Clarkson chose a car with a reputation for questionable reliability—a 1980s Lancia Beta Coupé. He justified this by arguing that because Lancia built successful rally cars, this coupe would be rugged.
In addition to the three main cars, the team had a back-up car for if, and when, their chosen vehicles died. This was a classic Volkswagen Beetle.
Clarkson, always the romantic, chose a 1981 Lancia Beta Coupé fitted with an automatic transmission. His reasoning was rooted in nostalgia and motorsport glory; Lancia had a legendary history in rally racing, and Clarkson seemed to believe some of that Italian panache would rub off on his African adventure. Top Gear Botswana Special is widely considered the
While the Lancia disintegrated and the Opel needed rescue, the Mercedes just shrugged. It was indestructible. It didn't care about the sand, the heat, or the rough terrain. It just motored on. In the final sprint to the Zimbabwe border, the Mercedes was the only car that crossed the line under its own power without a tow rope attached.
A running joke in early Top Gear specials was the introduction of a universally hated "backup car" that the presenters would be forced to drive if their own vehicle broke down completely. For Botswana, the producers chose a 1968 Volkswagen Beetle, painted in a bright safari camouflage.
Each presenter was given a budget of to buy a used car in Africa. The rules were strict: the vehicle had to be two-wheel drive and must not have been designed in any way for off-road use. Starting from the Botswana-Zimbabwe border (which, at the time, the BBC was banned from filming in), the trio had to drive 1,000 miles (1,600 km) across the spine of Africa to the Namibian border, traversing the brutal Makgadikgadi Salt Pans and the watery Okavango Delta. The Lancia’s front wheel dug in
If you want to explore more about this iconic episode, let me know:
First broadcast in November 2007 as part of Series 10, the is widely regarded as one of the best, if not the best, specials in the show’s history. Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, and James May travelled to Botswana with a simple mission: to prove that cheap, secondhand rear-wheel-drive cars bought in Africa for less than £1,500 were better than SUVs for crossing the country’s challenging terrain.
"I'm not worthy," he said.