Top Gear Botswana Cars Jun 2026

Chosen for its legendary reputation for ruggedness in Africa. It was the most comfortable but heavy, requiring May to strip it down to a bare shell to avoid sinking in the salt pans.

(from the 2013 Uganda trip) ended up. Share public link

: A grueling test of cooling systems and suspension.

The producers provided a Volkswagen Beetle , which the trio despised. Ironically, it was the only car that never broke down once during the entire 1,000-mile journey. Final Verdict top gear botswana cars

May’s logic was flawless. The W123 Mercedes is legendary across the African continent for its bulletproof reliability and over-engineered build quality. While Clarkson and Hammond mocked the car for being boring and slightly premium for the budget, the Mercedes proved to be an absolute tank. A Submarine on Wheels

for the remainder of the trip—a prospect all three hosts famously loathed Key Challenges & Modifications Makgadikgadi Salt Pans

The Botswana special showed that the journey was more important than the vehicle. The cars were not just modes of transportation; they became characters themselves. The contrast between the fragile Lancia, the resilient Opel, and the steady Mercedes highlighted the diverse, and often chaotic, nature of the Top Gear presenting trio. Chosen for its legendary reputation for ruggedness in Africa

The Botswana Special is frequently voted by fans as the greatest Top Gear episode ever made. There are several reasons for this:

In the final leg through the Okavango Delta, the presenters were told to make their cars "wild animal proof." May was able to find spare Mercedes parts. Clarkson, unable to find anything for his Lancia, created new doors from soda cans, wood, and corrugated iron and attached a megaphone. A hilarious moment of sabotage occurred when Clarkson and Hammond hid a cowbell and pieces of meat in May's car to attract wildlife, while May painted "All Adders Are Puffs" on Oliver and "Lite Bite Cafe" on the Lancia.

By the end of the episode, these cheap, discarded vehicles were no longer just scrap metal. They were celebrated survivors, proving that passion and basic engineering can conquer the harshest environments on Earth. Share public link : A grueling test of

The Botswana Special is widely regarded by fans as one of the best episodes in the show's history due to its combination of stunning scenery and the genuine mechanical peril of the chosen vehicles [ 0.5.3 ].

The Mercedes proved to be the unsung hero of the trip. While not flashy, it was the most reliable of the three, suffering the fewest breakdowns and often helping pull the others out of trouble. However, its heavier weight caused it to get stuck in the same salt crust as the Lancia, forcing May to strip his car too.