Hilux Arctic Challenge
| Top Gear: Polar Special | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Presented by |
Jeremy Clarkson Richard Hammond James May |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Production | |
| Running time |
TV cut 60 minutes Extended cut 70 minutes |
| Release | |
| Original network | BBC Two |
| Picture format | HDTV 1080i |
| Original release | 25 July 2007 |
| Chronology | |
| Related shows | Top Gear |
| External links | |
| Website | |
Top Gear: Polar Special is a full-length, special edition episode of BBC motoring programme Top Gear. It was first broadcast on 25 July 2007 on BBC Two, with an edited version repeated on UKTV channel Dave and BBC Canada. It was the first episode of Top Gear to be broadcast in high definition. In the episode, Jeremy Clarkson and James May attempted to be the first people to reach the North Pole (the 1996 location) in a motor vehicle. Meanwhile, Richard Hammond raced against them with a dog sled, the traditional means of transport around the Arctic. The idea for the special was originally proposed by the BBC to coincide with the Polar Challenge race, an annual event where competitors race to the 1996 location of the magnetic north pole by trekking and cross-country skiing.
The co-ordination of the whole project, from filming to the two separate but parallel expeditions to the Pole, was through joint co-operation by the car manufacturer Toyota and Top Gear, along with assistance from Arctic Trucks, an Icelandic vehicle modification company, for modifying the vehicles for the journey, including the Toyota Hilux that was to be used by Clarkson and May. Toyota promoted the event under the name Hilux Arctic Challenge.
At Resolute, Nunavut, Clarkson and Hammond announced their intention to travel from the small hamlet to the 1996 location of the magnetic north pole. Hammond declared he would be going there the traditional way via dog sled, aided by American explorer Matty McNair. Clarkson stated that he aimed to beat his colleague in a car to prove that it could reach the pole. The car in question would be a Toyota Hilux which had been modified for the trip with powerful headlamps, bigger wheels and an altered suspension. For the trip, in which Clarkson hoped to prove that Arctic explorations to the pole could be quicker and luxurious, he would be accompanied by a reluctant May, who was not eager to go to the pole. Clarkson pointed out that if he came, he could go down in history as the first person to go to the pole "who didn't want to be there".
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