Top Gear gave us so many great TV moments, particularly when Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May hosted the show. In Series 19, the trio took three station wagons across Africa to try and find the true source of the River Nile.
In that special, Clarkson drove a BMW 528i Touring, Hammond a Subaru Impreza WRX Estate, and May had a Volvo 850R Estate. It’s become one of the show’s classic adventures, split into two parts, and one segment saw the trio need to cross a river, but there was no bridge.
So in true Top Gear ‘how hard can it be?’ spirit, the three built their own makeshift raft to carry the cars to the other side, with a rope pulley system dragging them across. All while ensuring none of the three cars ended up in the river and out of the special.
Of course, and spoiler alert, if you never did see it, they made it across. The Top Gear Classic YouTube channel recently uploaded a video showing them take the raft across the river, with Clarkson giving the raft the name HMS Wobbly.
Who Was the First To Take the Raft Across the River?
It was Clarkson who ventured onto the raft with his car first for the journey across the river. Each car drove across a wooden ramp to get onto the raft before it was positioned to ensure the weight was balanced. It looked precarious, but the three did manage to get the BMW to the other side of the river, although there was some bickering.
“Stop being such an old woman; it doesn’t make any difference,” said May after being told to stay at the back of the raft for balance reasons. Getting off wasn’t quite as successful as Clarkson got his BMW stuck, so May and Hammond had to give him a helping hand. With that done, they went back to get Hammond’s Subaru. Of course, he had to make things difficult by reversing onto the raft. But that was so Clarkson could tow it off the raft, with the towing hook on the Subaru at the rear.
After slightly more bickering, the Subaru made it on. Hammond did lose his gifted chair from the top of the car as Clarkson had nicked the rope from it. A bit of scripted fun, but fun nonetheless! Hammond also struggled to get off the raft, so the BMW was required to tow him off.
The BMW Then Towed the Volvo Across on the Ferry
Clarkson then suggested that his car tow the raft with May’s Volvo on it. Skeptically, the other two agreed. Most of the weight from May’s Volvo was at the front, so it did nose down a bit when it was loaded. The BMW 528i Touring did nearly sink the Volvo, as expected. Clarkson used all the power he felt was needed.
But, in classic Top Gear fashion, they did somehow achieve something and get all three cars off the raft. The Volvo was also the only one to drive off HMS Wobbly on its own. What made it even better for the trio was that the producers, when trying to get the backup Ford Scorpio station wagon across the river, pushed it into the river. “That could have happened to us, but it didn’t,” exclaimed the trio as they basked in their victory.