Back in the good old days of classic “Top Gear” episodes involving Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May, there was a classic of classic episodes that featured the infamous three-wheeled Reliant Robin, which Clarkson promptly rolled on several occasions. Of course, now that he is no longer employed by the BBC, Clarkson can admit that Reliant Robin rollovers filmed for the episode were all a ruse. Clarkson finally fessed up in a recent article in the London Sunday Times, saying…
“To judge from the letters I get and the remarks in the street, it seems the most memorable thing I did on Top Gear was a short segment about the Reliant Robin. You may remember: I drove it around Sheffield and it kept falling over.
Well, now’s the time to come clean. A normal Reliant Robin will not roll unless a drunken rugby team is on hand. Or it’s windy. But in a headlong drive to amuse and entertain, I’d asked the backroom boys to play around with the differential so that the poor little thing rolled over every time I turned the steering wheel.
Naturally, the health and safety department was very worried about this and insisted that the car be fitted with a small hammer that I could use, in case I was trapped after the roll, to break what was left of the glass.”
