The Beetle was used during the challenging salt pan crossing, proving to be surprisingly capable in the soft, muddy terrain where the heavier 2WD cars struggled. The Challenge: Surviving the Makgadikgadi Salt Pans
Clarkson, true to his love of Italian cars, chose a 1981 Lancia Beta Coupe.
remains a high-water mark for the series, proving that you don't need a customized 4x4 to cross a continent—you just need a bit of blind optimism and $1,500. Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, and James May were tasked with driving across Botswana, from the Zimbabwean border to the Namibian border, using only used two-wheel-drive cars that were never meant to see a dirt road, let alone the Makgadikgadi Salt Pans or the Okavango Delta [ 0.5.1 ]. Here are the three unlikely heroes of that journey: 1. The 1981 Lancia Beta Coupé (Jeremy Clarkson)
Conclusion: Best overall choice for Botswana overland travel; strong blend of capability and serviceability. top gear botswana cars
: Clarkson chose a Lancia because the brand was legendary in rallying. However, this specific model was an automatic and plagued by reliability issues, breaking down almost immediately at the start of the journey. James May’s 1985 Mercedes-Benz 230E
The quiet professional. The Mercedes is the car you would actually want to drive across Botswana.
Only James May was serene. The Mercedes, despite sounding like a sewing machine full of gravel, simply went . It did not overheat. It did not complain. It just absorbed the corrugated dirt tracks with Teutonic indifference. The Beetle was used during the challenging salt
Silence.
was eventually restored and shipped back to the UK, where it remains in Hammond’s personal collection today. 1981 Lancia Beta Coupé
Per the show's rules, if a presenter's car broke down beyond repair, they would be forced to drive the "backup" car—a Volkswagen Beetle Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, and James May were
Here is the definitive guide to the iconic cars chosen for the trek, how they performed, and why they cemented this episode in television history. The Presenters' Car Choices Jeremy Clarkson: 1981 Lancia Beta Coupé
To survive the treacherous salt pans, where heavy cars risk breaking through the crust into primeval ooze, the team had to make drastic changes.