Episode Details

Englishman Ollie Jenks remembers when his friend first pitched the idea to him. The proposal by his Canadian buddy Seth Scott, a fellow lover of cars and crazy adventures, was for them to drive a decades-old British-made Reliant Robin car from London to the southern tip of Africa—a 14,000-mile (22,500-kilometer) journey through 22 countries—to set a record for the longest trip in a three-wheeled vehicle. Reliant Robins have cultlike status in the U.K. as humble three-wheelers that, in Jenks' words, were designed to go to the shops and back in 1970s Britain. They went out of production in the early 2000s but remain loved in British culture, especially after a Reliant appeared as the Trotter brothers' trusty but battered yellow van in the hugely popular sitcom Only Fools and Horses. Yet you couldn't find a less suitable vehicle to take thousands of miles through tropical jungles, mountain ranges, and deserts down the west side of Africa. And that's precisely why Jenks went for the absurd plan. Sheila, the silver three-wheeler—one of the last Reliant Robins to be built—was acquired specifically for the adventure. Jenks and Scott set off in October with a can of fuel and a few essential supplies strapped to Sheila's small roof, and a large amount of blind hope that they would somehow make it to Cape Town, South Africa, near the bottom of the world. "No power steering, no air con, and it doesn't do well up hills or down them. It is the most unsuitable car for probably any journey," Jenks said in an unkind assessment of Sheila's abilities. "We made friends with the designer of this car, and he's scared to take it any more than 20 miles." Jenks and Scott ignored all the advice and took Sheila on the epic journey over four and a half months that cost in the region of $40,000 to $50,000, Jenks said. They had help from sponsors and crowdfunding, and documented the journey on an Instagram page that pulled in nearly 100,000 followers under the title: "14,000 miles, 3 wheels, 0 common sense." This article was provided by The Associated Press.