autoevolution
 

Top Gear Middle East Challenge Cars on Display at Beaulieu

Top Gear 2010 Christmas Special carsTop Gear 2010 Christmas Special carsTop Gear 2010 Christmas Special carsTop Gear 2010 Christmas Special cars
During the Boxing Day 2010 Christmas Special, Top Gear producers sent Jeremy, Richard and James on their most dangerous challenge to date. The trip, which followed that of the Biblical three wise men, saw the team traveling some 1200 miles from Iraq to the birthplace of Christ in Bethlehem. Fans of Top Gear can now see three new cars from The Three Wise Men Christmas Special, in the World of Top Gear exhibition at Beaulieu.

Jeremy Clarkson chose to use an old Mazda MX5 convertible for this trip. Special features include a unique ‘car of many colors’ paint job, evidence that the car was once fitted with an ‘axle of evil’ and holes in the bodywork left behind by Clarkson’s silly ‘bulletproofing’ ambitions. The car is a non-runner and will not have the hookah pipe it had in the show, as it fell of during shooting.

James’ car of choice is a malfunctioning BMW Z3 sporting a bizarre camouflage paint scheme, inspired by the work of the Africa Corps and the Luftwaffe (yes, that is the German Air Force). When you think of a Fiat Barchetta, reliability is not the first thing that comes to mind. Nevertheless, Richard Hammond was pleasantly surprised by Italian honesty and soundness. However, the missing ‘buttock’ didn’t make for comfortable driving. Visitors to the World of Top Gear exhibition at Beaulieu should notice the bits of actual desert applied to the front of the car by smearing it in glue and then throwing sand at it, and the remnants of the Bedouin tent to the rear of the vehicle.

“We like to keep the exhibition as up to date as we possibly can and what could be better than for fans to see the show on TV and then the cars just a few days later,” said Stephen Munn, Commercial Director at the National Motor Museum.
If you liked the article, please follow us:  Google News icon Google News Youtube Instagram X (Twitter)
About the author: Mihnea Radu
Mihnea Radu profile photo

Mihnea's favorite cars have already been built, the so-called modern classics from the '80s and '90s. He also loves local car culture from all over the world, so don't be surprised to see him getting excited about weird Japanese imports, low-rider VWs out of Germany, replicas from Russia or LS swaps down in Florida.
Full profile

 

Would you like AUTOEVOLUTION to send you notifications?

You will only receive our top stories