Top Gear: Botswana Special

Top Gear: Botswana Special
From left to right: 1963 Opel Kadett (Hammond), 1981 Lancia Beta Coupe (Clarkson) and 1985 Mercedes-Benz 230E (May) crossing the Makgadikgadi Pan post stripdown modifications.
Format	Motoring
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Production
Producer(s)	Andy Wilman
Running time	60 minutes (66 minutes director's cut edition)
Broadcast
Original channel	BBC Two
Picture format	720x576, anamorphic 16:9
Original airing	4 November, 2007
Chronology
Related shows	Top Gear
External links
Website

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.

Overview

Challenge 1: Buy a used car for up to £1500. Mocking the use of "Chelsea Tractors" 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.

Criticism

The Environmental Investigation Agency 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.^[1]

References

1. ^ "Top Gear 'damaged African plains'". BBC News. 2007-07-08. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/6281512.stm. Retrieved 2007-07-28.