Top Gear: Patagonia Special is a full length special that was aired as a two-part episode for the BBC car show Top Gear ; the first part was aired on 27 December , while the second part was aired a day later on 28 December. The special sees hosts, Jeremy Clarkson , Richard Hammond , and James May , using a selection of cars with V8 engines to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the small-block V8 engine, on a journey across Chile and Argentina , starting from Bariloche and ending on the outskirts of Ushuaia , and includes the infamous scene involving the protesters that the presenters and their film crew encountered and the events that happened; it is the last Top Gear special to be filmed with the hosts, prior to Clarkson's exit from the show in March followed by Hammond, May, and Executive Producer Andy Wilman shortly afterwards.
The incident with the protesters was widely documented and reported by the media, prior to the broadcast of the special.
Unlike previous specials, despite each part doing well to draw in viewers during Christmas week it was aired on, it received mixed reviews from fans and critics, many of whom felt that it was not as entertaining as past specials by the hosts, largely due to the aforementioned controversy. All three presenters met in an area near Bariloche , where they brought and compared their cars.
Clarkson had bought a Porsche , which both Hammond and May berated for being "boring". Hammond had bought a Ford Mustang , which though both Clarkson and May initially liked, they pointed out the numerous flaws with the car, in that most of the car's features were "pointless".
May, arriving last, had bought a Lotus Esprit , a decision that both Clarkson and Hammond were stunned by; both proceeded to ridicule May for his choice of vehicle, citing the Esprit's famed unreliability and poor craftsmanship. The producers then presented them with a challenge: they were to drive from Bariloche to Butch Cassidy 's house.
