Two Men Drove A Three-Wheeled Car From London To Cape Town

The majority of us have only interacted with the Reliant Robin, a three-wheeled British economy car, by way of the infamous Top Gear skit. The Robin's (manufactured for TV) penchant for rollovers is what stopped my scrolling a few months back when I stumbled across Hold My Gear on Instagram. The algorithm served up a winner: two men, Ollie Jenks and Seth Scott, on a 14,000-mile journey across Europe and Africa.

Around 93,000 people have been following along since the car left London, complete with a series of off-road modifications to prepare it for the harsh realities of crossing a continent. "Harsh" really doesn't cover it, with Jenks and Scott largely suffering across Africa and Europe due to the Robin's fragile mechanics, Africa's poor infrastructure, and the near-constant harassment of local police. Why do all this? When asked by a journalist in one of their many short-form videos, Jenks said: "I'm not really sure." The two have also attached themselves to a fundraising effort: School in a Bag. Hold My Gear's fundraiser for the organization, which provides educational resources, eating, drinking, and hygiene equipment to poor, orphan, vulnerable, and disaster-affected children, has raised more than $17,500 USD as of publishing.

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/WNY0ty1-nEU

The pair successfully crossed into Cape Town after 91 days on the road. Their trip there was full of struggles no one could have anticipated, including holdups with their visas in Cameroon and an entirely new engine for their Robin, which the two christened "Sheila." The journey now holds a Guinness World Record for being the first three-wheeled car to make the trip. After being put on display in South Africa, the Robin will be shipped back to the UK and displayed in the London Transport Museum.

This story was originally published by Men's Journal on Apr 28, 2026, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Men's Journal as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

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This story was originally published April 28, 2026 at 1:16 PM.