Here is the full story of how three terrible cars conquered the Kalahari Desert.
May argued that old Mercedes-Benz cars were legendary in Africa for their durability and ease of repair, making it a "sensible" choice.
Jeremy Clarkson opted for glamour and performance over sensibility by choosing a 1981 Lancia Beta Coupé. Lancia is a brand historically synonymous with two things: brilliant rally heritage and atrocious mechanical reliability. Clarkson's car suffered from a relentless barrage of electrical faults, overheating issues, and structural failures from the moment the tires hit the dirt. Cruel Modifications
The Top Gear Botswana Special represents a bygone era of television. It captured the spirit of adventure in a way that felt spontaneous and real. It gave us "Oliver," it gave us Clarkson hacking his car to pieces with an axe, and it proved that a Mercedes W123 is essentially indestructible.
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Clarkson has always had a soft spot for Lancias, despite the brand's notorious reputation for rust. He arrived in a copper-colored Lancia Beta Coupe. It looked relatively sporty, but the African sun soon exposed its frailties. Almost immediately, the electrical systems began to fail. Windows wouldn't roll down, locks jammed, and the cooling system struggled. It was a fragile beauty in a land that demanded brute force.
The Iconic Cars of the Top Gear Botswana Special: An Ultimate Guide
Perhaps the most famous car in Top Gear history, the 1963 Opel Kadett A was chosen by Hammond for no specific reason. It was small, old, and completely ill-suited for the Botswana wilderness.
“Some say”… you should rewatch it tonight. Here is the full story of how three
Top Gear: Botswana Special is a full-length, special edition episode for the BBC motoring programme Top Gear , first broadcast on BBC Two on , as part of the fourth episode of Series 10. In this adventure, the hosts travel across Botswana with cars they bought in Africa for less than £1,500, to prove they can be better than SUVs for driving up "leafy country lanes". It was later released as part of a 2-disc DVD boxset alongside the Top Gear: Vietnam Special on 23 March 2009.
was left in Botswana; though long thought scrapped, it was discovered partially reassembled in Maun as recently as 2020. The Volkswagen Beetle
The car was plagued by catastrophic electrical failures from the start.
With your trusty by your side, you're ready to tackle some of the country's most spectacular routes: Lancia is a brand historically synonymous with two
Then, the low growl of the Mercedes. James May pulled alongside, wound down the window, and looked at the two broken cars. He didn't gloat. He just sighed.
You don’t remember a rental SUV. You never forget a car that leaves you stranded at sunset, forces you to sleep in the dirt, then fires up after a prayer and a zip tie.
Unconfirmed for years, but May revealed in a 2019 DriveTribe video that the Mercedes was sold shortly after filming. It was bought by a Top Gear fan in Germany, who drove it for several more years. It is believed the car eventually died of natural causes (mechanical fatigue) around 2015. Unlike the sentimental Oliver, May saw the Merc as a tool—and when the tool wore out, it was recycled.