Due to the controversial nature of some challenges, it is difficult to gauge who has been the most successful so far, but as a rough guide: May and Clarkson won the most cheap car challenges with seven victories and Hammond won three. Some challenges remain unclear, however, such as the 10,000 mid-engined Italian supercar challenge, where no presenter actually made it to their destination (although May came the closest to reaching their final destination, Hammond had won all but one of the challenges along the way and was leading on points). The genuine winner of the 1000 police car challenge remains unclear as a result of Hammond eating the final results of Clarkson's Fiat, and declaring himself the winner. The presenter who unofficially won the most challenges was Clarkson, with 10. May won 8 challenges, and Hammond won 6.
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The presenters were given 1,500 to buy a Porsche. Clarkson bought a 1983 928, Hammond bought a 1980 924, and May bought a 1984 944. The challenge included driving from London to Brighton, fuel economy, using the car in a lonely-hearts column, lap time, selling the car, and using the change from the 1,500 to modify the cars for judging by the Porsche Owners' Club. Clarkson won the challenge (despite bringing the most unreliable of the three cars) when he earned more by breaking up his car and selling it for parts. Winner: Clarkson
The presenters were given 10,000 to buy a 1970s supercar, which had to be mid-engined and Italian, and told to report to Bristol. Clarkson bought a 1974 Maserati Merak, (he believed it the more powerful SS model, only to discover during the challenges that it was a regular Merak with a 38 SS badge instead). Hammond purchased a 1979-built (1983 late-reg) Ferrari 308 GT4, and May found a 1974 Lamborghini Urraco afflicted by electrical problems. Various challenges included a lap of the Castle Combe Circuit, changing the oil and sparkplugs of their cars and driving from Chippenham to a "gentlemen's club" in Slough on a set amount of fuel. Hammond won most of the challenges, and May's Urraco was a constant source of problems due to its poor electrics - it arrived in Bristol on the back of a tow truck, and broke down on almost every leg of the trip. The Merak began to deteriorate at Castle Combe, where it was revealed to have terrible brakes, and the engine began making worrying noises alongside poor performance. It was later revealed in a rolling road challenge that it was only producing 80 bhp. Clarkson initially blamed the sound on the tappets, but as the day progressed, May declared that the engine was disintegrating. In the end, none of the cars survived the final journey to the finishing point at Spearmint Rhino. First, the Merak's engine exploded, showering the Urraco in pieces of the wreckage and forcing Clarkson to crash into a hedge, thanks to its brakes not working without a running engine. The Ferrari appeared to run out of fuel 10 miles from Slough, although Hammond later admitted that the entire electrical system had failed. Finally, the Urraco ran out of fuel on the outskirts of Slough, just one mile from the finish, causing a major traffic jam. The presenters therefore unanimously declared that the scores were useless, and Clarkson summarised with "yes, you can buy a mid-engined Italian supercar for less than 10,000, but for the love of God, don't!" No winner declared
The presenters were sent to Botswana to buy a car that was not an off-road vehicle and had only two-wheel drive, which they would drive across the country, from the eastern border of Zimbabwe to the western border of Namibia (approximately 1,000 miles). The challenge included a drive over the Makgadikgadi Pan, which left Clarkson and May's cars filled with dust after they had been stripped of excess weight to prevent their cars sinking through the thin surface, and over the Okavango Delta. This was to prove "to the people of Surrey that they don't need 44s in case there are leaves on the road." This challenge introduced a new rule that stipulated if any of the presenters' cars were to break down beyond repair, they would have to complete the journey in a substitute vehicle - for this challenge, a Volkswagen Beetle (the Beetle being the presenters' unanimous choice as their least favourite car). Clarkson bought a 1981 Lancia Beta Coupé, which was the most unreliable car of the lot. Hammond bought a 1963 Opel Kadett, which he named Oliver (consequently becoming the butt of jokes of the other presenters), while May bought a 1985 Mercedes-Benz 230E. Hammond felt such affection for his car that he subsequently had it shipped to the UK (which resulted in Clarkson and May making fun of him), where it had the occasional cameo on Richard Hammond's Blast Lab. Oliver was Hammond's "prized possession" in the Top Gear 'Lorryist' challenge. All three made it to the Namibian border. Clarkson declared the Beetle as the winner, since it had no documented mishaps during the trip, much to the shock of Hammond, with which May answered "he's right!" Winner: Volkswagen Beetle (back up car)
In an argument with the producers of Top Gear, the presenters claimed British Leyland did produce some good cars, despite being on strike most of the time and not producing cars at all. So, they were given a budget of 1,200 (of their own money) to buy a British Leyland in which they would face a series of challenges, for which, instead of points, they would earn money back. These mostly took place at the MIRA proving ground, though the last one was at the Top Gear test track, where they tried to see how much of the track they could complete whilst their cars were full of water. Hammond went over the budget to get a 1974 Triumph Dolomite Sprint for 1,250, Clarkson got a 1981 Rover SD1 for 1,100 which consequently lost two doors in unrelated incidents, whereas May spent 1,000 and acquired a 1978 Princess that was likened to a wedge of cheese. The boys also reproduced the intro of Money from the various squeaks and clunks their cars made. After all the challenges, Clarkson summed up the money and declared May the winner of the challenge, as not only did he get back all that he had paid, he made a 20 profit. Winner: May
The presenters were challenged with proving to the show's producers that in order to be a true "petrol head", you need to have owned an Alfa Romeo. So, they were each given 1,000 to buy their own Alfa Romeo. Clarkson bought a 1989 Alfa Romeo 75 3.0 V6 (for 450), Hammond bought a 1984 Alfa Romeo Spider 2.0 (for 1,000), and May bought a 1996 Alfa Romeo GTV 2.0 TwinSpark (for 995). The cars were put to a series of tests, which included participating in a track day on the Rockingham Motor Speedway road course, featuring their cars on a calendar which they must sell at a newsstand, and then lastly entering an Alfa Romeo exclusive Concours d'Elegance event, traveling as far as 80 miles to reach the event.
With a budget of 2,500 each including insurance, the three bought cars that were "ideal" for 17-year-olds. Clarkson bought a 1995 Volvo 940 estate, Hammond a 1993 Hyundai Scoupe and May a 1994 Volkswagen Golf Mk III. They were then given a series of challenges, including driving across a field after a rave, parking cars at night, and an obstacle course in which each presenter had to drive round the course and hit as many of the obstacles as they could. Winner: Clarkson
Upon arriving in Mallorca, the presenters discovered that they were almost two days late for the rally, which was a five-day event, and thus had no chance of winning. They chose to bet 25 on whichever one of them had the best score at the end of the rally. Clarkson's malfunctioning gauges made calculating his speed difficult, May had to cope with Welch's initial lack of interest and navigating experience, and Hammond's Lanchester proved unreliable, breaking down several times per stage and overheating constantly. While Clarkson was in the lead heading into the final day, May posted the most consistent lap times at the regularity track day and edged out Clarkson in the final challenge. After the challenge it was revealed that all three presenters liked their chosen cars so much they had bought them from the BBC. Winner: May
The three presenters travelled 1,000 miles through the rainforests of Bolivia to the Pacific coast of Chile. They used pre-owned off-road vehicles, bought in Bolivia (unseen via the internet) for less than 3,500 each. Hammond bought a tan Toyota Land Cruiser, which had been converted into a soft top convertible by a previous owner. Despite the car's reputation for durability, it turned out to be the most unreliable car, suffering multiple drivetrain and suspension breakdowns. It was damaged beyond repair on the sand-dune descent. Hammond nicknamed his Land Cruiser "Donkey." Clarkson bought a red Range Rover, which he believed had a 3.9-litre fuel-injected engine. However, when he showed his co-presenters under the bonnet, May noted it had carburettors, making it the older 3.5-litre model. Overall Clarkson's Range Rover turned out to be the most reliable, despite the car's reputation. May bought a red (although "..in the advert it was blue...") Suzuki Samurai with a 1.3-litre engine, which was the smallest of the three vehicles. Despite this, May made no modifications, and it had the fewest breakdowns. One of the Suzuki's disadvantages was its open differentials, which until fixed made it "3-wheel drive" Winner: Clarkson
The trio were then required to lap the Top Gear Test Track in their cars, trying to match the Stig's time done in a modern BMW 325i. Clarkson recorded the fastest time despite blowing his engine, followed by Hammond and then May. After that, the three cars were filled with helium and the presenters were required to sit in them to test for leaks. Clarkson and May's voices went high and squeaky due to the gas, but Hammond's did not as it had leaked out, once again leading to a 1,000 point deduction. The cars were then inspected to determine how much money was needed to restore them to showroom condition. May's required 5,500, Hammond's 7,500 and Clarkson's 11,000. Finally the presenters decided to form a stunt driving team in front of a live audience at the Essex County Fair (this did not count towards the points challenge), they all collided almost immediately. 2ff7e9595c