Top Gear’s Scariest Moments: Richard Hammond, A Land Rover, And A Dam
There are two things that scare the ever living crap out of me: heights and spiders. My fear of heights has led to some pretty sweaty viewings of Top Gear. The Bolivian Death Road was one of the most tense moments I could think of. The other one was the segment we’ll talk about today.
In Series 22, Episode 4, Richard had to scale the Claerwen Dam while sitting in a 64 year old Land Rover. The stunt was an homage to an 80s Land Rover Defender ad, but unlike in the advert where the Defender was winched up from the top of the dam, Richard’s Land Rover would actually be winching itself up the dam.
It’s amazing when you watch the segment; in certain shots, the dam doesn’t look all that steep, but when you get a wide shot of Hammond’s Land Rover on the face of the dam, it becomes quite clear that the car is essentially pointing straight up. I can only imagine how terrifying the experience must have been for Richard.
In fact I have probably heard Richard swear more times in this short segment than I have in the entirety of his time on Top Gear and The Grand Tour combined. He truly looked freaked out. To make matter worse, once Richard reached the top of the dam, he had to be winched back down. How’s that for a cruel joke?
