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 ‘indestructible’ 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.
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.
WATCH: Top Gear try and destroy a Toyota in Burnham
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