Whats happened to the cars used in the specials ?
Posted by Jakeeaton127@reddit | thegrandtour | View on Reddit | 47 comments
Whats happened to the cars used in the specials which haven't been kept by Clarkson, Hammond and May? I wouldn't expect them to have been scrapped as some like the CX are rare cars. I have heard that the Evo James crashed is at Amazons facility but it isn't allowed to be driven because of the damage.
Drowsuperior@reddit
the Indian cars were destroyed or abandoned I forget. the Argentina cars are somewhere on a lot in Argentina the Botswana cars...we know what happened to those.
Ok_Stop4635@reddit
I believe James rolls still exists because I did a number plate check and it had an MOT this year
A_named_person2@reddit
Richard's beach buggy was sold and Jeremy's Mitsuoka le-seyde was put on an auction but didn't sell
https://www.classic.com/veh/1991-mitsuoka-le-seyde-ps13036919-p6j3YOp?tab=comps
ZachAscot@reddit
It did sell... It's on my driveway
ZachAscot@reddit
I'm the proud owner of Jeremy & James' cars from Eurocrash! (The Mitsuoka & Crosley)
Less-Program-1180@reddit
The James's meyers manx from the first the grand tour special is in his own garage, he brought it back to UK and let it restored
turn_down_4wat@reddit
The ones from the first Botswana special (minus Oliver) are still there and were shown in One for the road, the wagons they used in Rwanda (Volvo, BMW and Subaru) are still there as well, most of the other cars from both TG and TGT were either sold to some locals for cheap just to get rid of them or destroyed for various reasons.
A few notable exceptions include the Bentley used in Madagascar that made a brief cameo in the Farm show and was then sent back to Bentley for their museum. The two Polar Hilux pickups used in the North Pole special have also been preserved and sitting in a museum*, and a couple of others.
To my knowledge, none of the cars used for any challenge (in specials or otherwise) have ever been sold to private collectors, other than the MGB GT (which they sold to Hammond) and the few from TGT that have been documented on Drivetribe.
Most of the "reasonably priced car(s)" were either scrapped (most of the Lianas) or sent back to the manufacturer. Like the Kia, for example, they had three in total over the years and they were all press cars never owned by Top Gear, just on loan from a dealership.
Technically, the dragster Hammond almost died in has exchanged owners a couple of times and has since been restored (Hammond sat in it again a couple of years ago).
*Fun fact, the Hilux May and Clarkson technically drove across the physical North Pole was the backup vehicle because thte original (seen in most shots) broke down.
MikeyLew32@reddit
I want to know what happened to John.
jzn110@reddit
They weren't legally able to take it out of Mongolia
7148675309@reddit
They say that but - they would have imported it in the first place….
Pineapple_Spenstar@reddit
No, they imported parts
jzn110@reddit
\^ Correct. The car was built on Mongolian soil.
SubjectiveAssertive@reddit
Hammond has a few of his, look on YouTube for "drivetribe" there is a few videos on there with them.
Clarkson has the Bentley from Madagascar, he drives it in Clarkson's farm.
The Top Gear special cars are mostly at Beauleigh Motor Museum
tangre79@reddit
Clarkson also has the GTV6 still and the Lincoln Continental Mark V.
Ancalimei@reddit
He also kept the Excellent.
Pineapple_Spenstar@reddit
It's Lisa's favorite tg/gt car, apparently
Ancalimei@reddit
Omg is that serious? XD That's hilarious!
Pineapple_Spenstar@reddit
Yep, she said it in an interview with Mike Fernie
sticks_no5@reddit
He kept one of his many Alfa’s too, don’t remember which one
mrgreengenes04@reddit
I think he put the Jeep in a raffle for charity recently.
MasterOfBitaite@reddit
It would be funnier if it was LJeepBT
DukeNiemand@reddit
You can also see the Columbia Jeep for a split second in his barn in an episode on season 1 of Clarkson's Farm.
HoveringPorridge@reddit
*Beaulieu. But bang on, it's a great little exhibit of the suriving cars!
w3stvirginia@reddit
The Bentley had to go back to the manufacturer. Since it was preproduction, it was destined to be destroyed and couldn’t be sold. Last I read, they had it displayed in a glass case at the factory.
Ghost273552@reddit
I believe Bentley has since taken back the Madagascar car.
Irtep@reddit
Id love to know if H982 FKL still exists
Tinguiririca@reddit
Destroyed by the argentinian government, they felt very proud after the fact.
TheKilmerman@reddit
Cunts.
PskRaider869@reddit
Fairly sure all three of those cars were turned to bits, whether by the protesters or the Argentine government just deciding to do it themselves. Can't imagine they've just been sitting abandoned all this time given how much attention had been on them
Jakeeaton127@reddit (OP)
I would, too i know the chances are incredibly low. I heard that "each car was shredded to nut size" which doesn't really seem believable in a small scrapyard but the government was there so it's possible that's its true and they are no longer around.
evilwatersprite@reddit
Anyone know what became of John from the Mongolia special?
jugularhealer16@reddit
I read here (so take it with a grain of salt) that they weren't able to export it from Mongolia. I haven't looked it up though.
ChaoticKiwiNZ@reddit
From memory, I believe you're right. Because it wasn't technically a car (had no license plates and wasn't registered at all as a vehicle), they couldn't bring it back to the UK with them.
I believe it was dismantled after filming because it couldn't be used because it wasn't built up to code or by licensed professionals.
Phooney124@reddit
OLIVER! I wonder what happened to that gem and the Toyota truck that never died.
GenericUsername817@reddit
Pretty sure Hammond took Oliver back to England
punchtheinstructors@reddit
Hammond has Oliver it's in his show Richard Hammond's workshop. He even bought another one to pair up with Oliver.
7148675309@reddit
Yep - she’s red and called Olivia
HoldingOnOne@reddit
The Toyota truck was used as set dressing in the Top Gear studio. It was mounted on a plinth at quite a steep nose-down angle and would sometimes contain a TV screen in the cabin. Maybe Slash did his outro stood on it in the episode where he was the guest?
Oliver was kept by Richard and restored. I’m sure he did a science show (Blast Lab?) and it appeared in that not too long after Top Gear, and he still has it.
Once_Zect@reddit
For the last special cars they all brought it back to England and is having Hammond fix them to working condition I think, he posted an instagram picture of it
iron-tusk_@reddit
I’m pretty sure Hammond still has Oliver
Vistril69@reddit
I'd like to buy the CX-5 Jeremy Clarkson drove in the caravan race.
Toyobaru_86@reddit
The Evo is with Hammond's Workshop. It's appeared a few times in his Youtube videos. It looks like it's been repaired. I'm not sure if it is being returned to May, but I don't think so. The Stag and the Capri are with Hammond as well, and Clarkson drove his Lancia to the screening of the last episode.
mrgreengenes04@reddit
That's actually different Evo, just the same spec as the one James wrecked.
OneBigOne@reddit
I read once that in the Top Gear days they weren’t allowed to resell any of the “cheap car challenge” cars so they were all kept in a hangar at the studio or otherwise scrapped/destroyed. Not sure about the Grand Tour cars. I thought I saw that a few were donated to various causes but it would be interesting to track them down.
Jakeeaton127@reddit (OP)
I know that most of the TG cars have been scrapped, some possibly in storage like the hoverva. I would like to know where the GT cars are now and if they could be sold off.
TylerInHiFi@reddit
I think that was due to the unique way in which the BBC is funded.
MattUltraMotive@reddit
Clarkson also kept “The Excellent” from when he made a actual “SUV”