Top Gear tried to destroy a Toyota with fire, floods, and explosions, and it still survived

Known as one of the most reliable vehicles of all time, this 1998 Toyota Hilux survived the wrath of the iconic original Top Gear trio.

Slow and methodical, that’s James May’s approach. Pure power, there’s Clarkson. Wily and cunning, Hammond.

Together, the Top Gear trio threw every trick in their playbook at a 1998 Toyota Hilux.

But with demolitions, wrecking balls, fires, floods, and other forms of destruction you can think of, this persistent truck defied logic and earned a place in the programme’s hall of fame.

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This Toyota Hilux cannot be killed

Notorious for its high-octane stunts and pushing basic cars to their absolute limits, Top Gear went above and beyond when faced with one of their toughest trials of all time.

Forget traversing Burma in wagons or driving the length of Africa to follow the three wise men in cars, equivalent to the donkeys of Bethlehem, the toughest test of all was killing a Toyota Hilux.

First to come face to bonnet with the Toyota Hilux was Clarkson, who opted for his typical measures of destruction: power.

After teasing its strength by crashing it into trees and walls, the presenter quickly upped the ante by drowning the truck overnight, anchoring it to a beach, and allowing the tide to do the heavy lifting.

With only basic tools and no spare parts to work with, the mechanics left him speechless as they faced almost no problems in reviving the vehicle that spent hours underwater.

So, he dropped a wrecking ball on it.

And then a caravan.

And then he torched it.

But would it die? No. So he gave up and passed it on to the others.

Together, May and Hammond came up with the idea of demolishing the car from a 23-storey building.

Liaising with a demolition crew, they hauled the Toyota Hilux to the top of a block of flats set to be ripped down.

With a controlled explosion, the building crumbled and took the car with it, burying it in rubble and dust. But after being hauled out and a quick spanner to the engine, the car unbelievably kicked into life again.

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It became a trophy lining the Top Gear studio for years

In fact, it was so hard to kill that it became one of the only trials that they ever failed, earning a coveted place on the studio wall and in the hearts of fans.

Having driven into the studio, the Top Gear presenters hung it up as a decoration for the rest of the shows, honoring the robust vehicle.

It might not have been the most expensive stunt in Top Gear history, or the longest, but it was certainly the deadliest, and the Toyota Hilux laughed off every near-death experience.

The test was so popular that YouTubers have tried to recreate the destruction tests, dropping one from 10,000 feet in the air.

But you can guess how that ended up…

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