WHAT happens if you leave a Toyota pick-up truck tied to a jetty and left to the mercy of the rising tide?
That’s exactly what Jeremy Clarkson and his team of Top Gear producers tried to find out when they visited Burnham-on-Sea on October 8, 2003.
Their visit was part of an attempt to destroy an ‘indestructable’ Toyota Hilux, which the programme had collected from a farm.
Before its arrival in Burnham, the pick-up truck had been driven down a flight of stairs and into walls and a tree in Bristol, sustaining only cosmetic damage.
After arriving in Burnham, Clarkson said: “I'd tried careless driving. So, I thought I'd try a spot of careless parking.”
With the help of the RNLI, the Hilux was left tethered to Burnham Jetty, exposing its internal components to the rapidly rising tide.
“This is the Severn Estuary, home to the second-biggest tide in the world,” said Clarkson.
“Forty feet! And it moves at eight miles per hour. That's why the RNLI have tethered my car in place. I'm not going to get that out for hours! Damn!”
But then, disaster struck. As lifeboat volunteers and bemused members of the public watched on, the ropes tying it in place snapped.
A report in the Weekly News from October 16, 2003. [Image: Archive]
The Hilux was eventually found resting on its side on the sand five hours later when the tide went out – and things weren't looking good.
Burnham's BARB Search & Rescue team managed to recover the vehicle and get it back on dry land for the extent of the damage to be assessed.
The host explained: “The silt had jammed the steering lock, and the cylinders were flooded with seawater.
“It was a wreck and, even though we brought a mechanic along, we had no spare parts. Things looked bleak.”
The mechanic worked on it for around 40 minutes, with Clarkson concluding that it had been ‘killed’ by the ordeal.
But moments later, the truck spluttered back to life.
It was then taken to the Top Gear test track, where it was driven through a shed [the ‘production office’], had a caravan dropped on its roof, got hit by a wrecking ball and was even set on fire.
Despite that, the hardy pick-up was driven into the next studio show to a round of applause from the staggered hosts and audience members.
In the next episode, the Hilux faced its biggest test yet; a fall from the top of a building as part of a controlled demolition.
Top Gear famously proved that the Toyota Hilux, which shares components with America's Toyota Tacoma, is indestructible. Jeremy Clarkson did everything he could to destroy the resilient pickup truck from crashing it into trees, dropping a caravan on it, and hitting it with a wrecking ball, but it refused to die.
Somehow, it even survived being buried by a 200-foot building that was demolished. Ultimately, Top Gear gave up trying to kill it and kept the battered Hilux on display in the studio. Nearly 20 years later, YouTube channel WhistlinDiesel has been torture-testing the Toyota Hilux in some even more extreme tests to find out if it really is as tough as Top Gear claims.
Initially, WhistlinDiesel's durability tests were relatively tame. In the first test, the bed was loaded with over one tonne of bricks to see how the truck coped under stress. The Hilux was also taken to Moab Utah to see how it handled the challenging off-road trail. Despite all the abuse, the Hilux was still in working order.
In the most extreme test yet, the YouTuber wanted to find out if the Hilux can survive being dropped 10,000 feet by a helicopter. Before the big drop, the Hilux is dropped from 500 feet. The hard landing bends the truck out of shape, damaging the frame.
Unfortunately, we don't get to find out if the engine still starts because it costs $100,000 a minute to rent the helicopter. With no time to waste, the Hilux is hoisted back into the air and the helicopter climbs to 10,000 feet. When the truck is released, it spins violently in the air and freefalls for nearly 30 seconds before slamming onto the ground.
As they approach the wreckage, the crew discover the Hilux has been completely flattened. Clearly, the truck is no longer drivable, but WhistlinDiesel plans to see if the engine still runs in a future video to find out if the Hilux is truly indestructible.
Can the toughest truck on the planet beat gravity, or will it finally meet its maker?
June 21, 2021 at 13:41
by Andrew Gutman
The Toyota Hilux has garnered a reputation, particularly thanks to Top Gear, as arguably the toughest truck to ever exist. In their episode on it, they dropped it from a height of 200 ft [61 m] and it managed to survive. Now, WhistlinDiesel wants to see if it still hold up from a height 50 times as high, or 10,000 ft [3,048 m].
They begin by rigging up the Toyota truck with mounting points, as to achieve the heights they’re aiming for, they need a helicopter to lift it. They then take the truck up to a starting height of 500 ft [152 m], which is already 300 ft [91 m] more than what Top Gear did, and drop it. They included a camera inside the truck as well as the ones filming from the ground, so we get to see the action from all perspectives.
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See Also: Arctic Trucks Beefs Up The Toyota Hilux Pickup With A Rugged Makeover
When the truck hits the ground, it lands nose-down, which was probably not the orientation they were hoping for if they wanted it to survive. Even from the helicopter’s POV hundreds of feet in the air you’re able to tell that this thing was likely totaled given that the entire truck was bent in half, and once they get back on the ground, that fact is confirmed.
Nevertheless, they hook the Hilux up for the 10,000 ft [3,048 m] drop anyway and take it back up into the air. Once they’ve reached their target altitude, the truck is dropped, and it begins its descent back to Earth. On its way down, the truck was sent spinning but it managed to remain wheels-down. They were nice enough to include a little timer in the corner, which said that the fall took all of 29 seconds.
Once they get down to the scene, they find that the truck has been completely flattened as if it had just gone through a crusher. Needless to say, it did not survive the fall. To watch the carnage for yourself, you can check out the video below.
What episode of Top Gear do they destroy a Hilux?
Is the Toyota Hilux Really Indestructible?.
Episode aired Nov 23, 2003..
TV-PG..
What happened to the Toyota Hilux from Top Gear?
Another major vehicle that was heavily used in filming for the programme is the famous red Toyota Hilux, this was used as a background prop in the main hanger where the inside filming took place and is now also on display in the Top Gear museum.
What Toyota did Top Gear try to destroy?
Before TopGear tried to kill a Toyota Hilux there was...
What episode of Top Gear is the Toyota?
Jeremy drives a Toyota Hilux to test its claims of indestructability, and the Mazda RX8 is also in the spotlight.