18th August 2010
The Motorhome Challenge required Jeremy, Richard and James to make a motorhome that was both compact and cool. All it had to have was somewhere to sleep, somewhere to cook, and somewhere to go to the loo. Of course, the way each of them tackled this challenge was very different.
Jeremy’s Grand Design was a three storey minimalist construction with clean white lines perched atop a Citroen CX. Unfortunately Richard and James’s attempt to push Jeremy’s motorhome to the edge of the cliff (so Jeremy could see it from the Pub) didn’t go to plan, resulting in it rolling it off a cliff. Which is why what you now see is just the crushed remains of Jeremy’s motorhome.
Richard’s offering is a converted Land Rover 110 motorhome. A stone effect finish conceals a ‘flat pack’ interior of aluminium and acrylic sheeting which can expand out to a 12 room ‘mansion’, requiring mere hours and the loss of several knuckles to achieve.
The infinitely less complicated Lotus which James converted into a lightweight motorhome was inspired by the work of the pioneer aviators. This simple pod, constructed from aero grade aluminium and canvas, preserved the performance, handling and vague infidelities of the original car with only one major design flaw – he’d built over the petrol cap.
Also joining the line up of Top Gear cars in the exhibition is the actual ‘gondola’ used by James May for his caravan airship. The idea was that it would blend seamlessly into any camp site and get there without clogging up the roads. In reality, it drifted off course and then crashed through a bush!
