Top Gear: Polar Special

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The Top Gear: Polar Special is an episode of the well-known British car magazine Top Gear , which aired on July 25, 2007 on BBC Two . It was an attempt by the two presenters Jeremy Clarkson and James May to be the first people ever to reach the northern magnetic pole in the Arctic, a few hundred kilometers from the geographic North Pole . Richard Hammond, on the other hand, should try to reach the pole faster than the car on a dog sled .

The project was carried out by Top Gear in collaboration with Toyota and Arctic Trucks (a company specializing in the modification of off-road vehicles). The vehicles used for the Polar Special were two heavily modified Toyota Hilux and a Toyota Land Cruiser , with the focus in the film on the Hilux driven by May and Clarkson. The event was promoted by Toyota as the Hilux Arctic Challenge .

overview

The timing of the race was chosen by the BBC to coincide with the annual Polar Challenge , in which participants race to the position of the North Magnetic Pole in 1996 through cross-country skiing and trekking . The attempt would then be shown as a separate Top Gear Special in 2007. As part of this challenge, the car would compete against a dog sled, the traditional form of transportation in the Arctic . James May and Jeremy Clarkson would drive the car and Richard Hammond the dog sled, which would be driven by Matty McNair .

Clarkson and May were actually the first in their Hilux to reach the north magnetic pole, thus winning the race against Hammond and, along with their support team, were the first people to reach this pole in a car. The episode was musically supported mainly with compositions by Clint Mansell from Requiem for a Dream , Movement 4 and Death is the Road to Awe . This episode was the first Top Gear episode to air in high definition. Every episode of the TV series is now also broadcast in high definition.

vehicles

Toyota Hilux of this type were used on the expedition
(pictured: the moderator's vehicle)

Two Toyota Hilux (model 3.0 D4-D) with a double cabin and a Toyota Land Cruiser 120 were used for the expedition . In addition, a modified trailer on 38 "wheels was used to carry parts of the equipment and additional fuel. A Hilux was driven by the two moderators May and Clarkson and was equipped with additional cameras and microphones. The other two vehicles were used by the film crew, two mechanics and a polar expert. All three vehicles had to undergo the same major modifications in order to survive the arctic conditions.

The standard rims and tires were exchanged for specially made rims from Arctic Trucks and 38 ″ snow tires with spikes . The wheels can be driven with a pressure of just 0.28 bar (4 psi ) to enable a larger contact surface on snow. The wheel arches were raised and widened to protect the larger wheels. The wheelbase also had to be enlarged. The normal 3-liter diesel engine was modified so that it could still function reliably at the low temperatures. Heating elements have been added to warm the fuel and coolant. In addition, a more robust car battery was installed and the air intake changed. A 90 liter additional tank was installed. The gear ratio has been reduced to 1: 4.88. In the event that the vehicles got stuck, two winches could be installed at the rear or front of all three vehicles. In addition, a foldable toilet seat was installed on the trailer hitch of the moderator's vehicle.

The Toyota Hilux was selected, among other things, because it had already proven to be extremely robust and reliable in several Top Gear Challenges . In the course of two Top Gear episodes, one example was placed in the open sea for the duration of a flood, set on fire and ultimately placed on a high-rise that had to be blown up. Despite severe damage, the Hilux could be put back into operation after repairs with the on-board tool kit. So the Hilux was the “obvious” choice for the trip to the Pole.

The expedition

The expedition began on April 27, 2007 at 1:00 p.m. from Resolute Bay in Nunavut Territory . The day's destination was the uninhabited Bathurst Island , where the expedition set up camp for the day. After leaving Bathurst, the convoy could only rely on satellite navigation .

On the first three days, the expedition made good progress due to the smooth ice surface, but the terrain became more difficult on April 28, 2007. Sharp-edged ice and a thick blanket of snow reduced traction and put the tires at risk. Scouts were sent ahead to determine a safe route and, if necessary, to level ice obstacles with the help of axes. The next step was to cross a thin field of ice, with the risk that the heavy vehicles would break through the ice, making them very slow.

On the morning of May 2, 2007, the team reached the location of the north magnetic pole of 1996 78 ° 35.7 ′ N, 104 ° 11.9 ′ W (or 78 ° 35 ′ 7 ″  N , 104 ° 11 ′ 9 ″  W on display of the GPS carried , a little over a kilometer south-southeast ). This made them the first people to reach the north magnetic pole with a tolerance of less than a mile in a motor vehicle .

From there, the top were flown Gear presenters by plane, while the rest of the team on the way to the by Gunnar Isachsen , named since 1978 disused weather station Isachsen on Ellef-Ringnes Island made where they set up camp and Checked the condition of their vehicles with a view to returning to Resolute.

Richard Hammond did not reach the goal, "as it seemed cruel to have him cover the extra distance just so that Clarkson could be sardonically pleased".

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ HiLux - Arctic Modifications. (No longer available online.) In: toyota.com.au. Toyota Motor Corporation Australia, archived from the original on July 7, 2013 ; accessed on April 28, 2014 (English). Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.toyota.com.au
  2. ↑ Production notes: Polar special. In: BBC.co.uk. BBC , accessed on April 28, 2014 (English, quote can no longer be found).