Top Gear Botswana Cars _verified_ May 2026

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.

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. top gear botswana cars

Oliver lives on. The Lancia was scrapped. The Mercedes probably still starts on the first turn of the key. Here’s a write-up on the iconic Top Gear