JAN/FEB 2009

Northern Exposure

by Thomas Warde

Putting a car on the roof of the world for the first time is a difficult, dangerous, complicated business. One that millions of viewers from around the globe watched as the BBC Top Gear team drove their Toyota Hilux over almost 400 nautical miles of sea ice and deep snow from Resolute Bay in Canada to the magnetic North Pole, making it the first car ever to reach it.

But getting there involved far more than Jeremy Clarkson and James May flying into an icy airstrip, jumping into their vehicle and heading north. It involved 18 months of planning, international cooperation from South Africa to Iceland, support from snowmobiles and Hercules heavy-lift aircraft and the input of experts, from ex- Special Forces soldiers to an Inuit guide, appropriately named Glyde.

The award-winning show has long been obsessed with the Hilux. Previous series have tested the pickup’s legendary toughness by repeatedly attempting to destroy an already-battered 1988 model. Later, Clarkson turned one into an amphibious vehicle by fitting an outboard motor. Behind the camera, the crew have used the Hilux to film in difficult conditions. So when Top Gear decided to be the first team ever to drive to the North Pole, they chose to go in a Hilux, of course.

PIMP MY HILUX

Planning started in January 2006, just after the launch of the sixth generation of the 12 million unit-selling truck. The standard Hilux is already a very capable off-roader but it was clear that it would need serious modifications to cope with the deep, soft snow and vast, solid ice that block the route to the Pole. Toyota turned to Arctic Trucks, based in Reykjavik, Iceland. The firm specialises in converting standard off-roaders to full Arctic specification for expeditions and military use. Chairman Emil Grimsson is a veteran of these conditions and has driven across the icy wastes of Greenland. Even he hadn’t considered driving to the North Pole, but he immediately flew to the team’s planned starting point in Resolute Bay to assess the terrain.

By October 2006, the BBC was ready to start the project in earnest. Two of the very first 8 Hilux with 3.0 litre D-4D diesel engines were shipped from the plant in South Africa to the UK, before being sent on to Iceland. Grimsson and his team spent two months modifying the two identical red Double Cab pickups. One would carry Clarkson and May to the Pole, and the other would act as a support vehicle and as a replacement if the first car broke or sank. A third support car—a Toyota Land Cruiser—was built, with a special Arctic-spec trailer for the vast amount of equipment required....

 

 

 

 

 

Photos by Top Gear/Toyota