While Clarkson bought drama and Hammond bought heart, May bought a bank vault. His 1979 Mercedes-Benz 230E (W123) was already old, beige, and terminally boring—exactly how May likes it. But the W123 is widely regarded as one of the most over-engineered, indestructible cars ever built.
Clarkson, in a move that surprised absolutely no one who knows his love for flawed Italian flair, bought a rotting, rusty 1981 Lancia Beta Coupé for just over a grand. The Lancia Beta is infamous in car history for catastrophic rust issues—body panels literally dissolving in European rain. Taking one to the salt-crusted pans of Botswana was automotive suicide. top gear botswana cars
Hammond found a baby-blue 1969 Opel Kadett in a muddy used-car lot. It looked like a fragile toy from West Germany, but Hammond immediately bonded with it, naming it “Oliver.” The Kadett was slow, underpowered, and had no business crossing the Makgadikgadi salt flats. While Clarkson bought drama and Hammond bought heart,
Here’s a write-up on the iconic Top Gear Botswana Special, focusing on the three cars chosen by Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, and James May. In the pantheon of Top Gear adventures, the 2007 Botswana Special (“Africa Special” Part 1) stands as a masterclass in cheap-car endurance. The challenge was simple yet brutal: buy a second-hand car for £1,500, drive it 1,000 miles across the harsh salt pans, scrubland, and unforgiving terrain of Botswana, and end at the Makgadikgadi Pan. No backup, no fancy 4x4s—just questionable engineering and stubborn British will. Clarkson, in a move that surprised absolutely no
And yet. After a near-catastrophic suspension collapse and endless bashing, this Lancia refused to die. Clarkson named it “The Indestructible Lancia”—a title no Lancia has ever deserved less, yet earned through sheer spite. It finished the challenge, albeit with every panel dented, the rear window held in by tape, and the exhaust dragging. It remains a glorious monument to stubborn Italian spirit. “Oliver”