Richard Hammond plans to fix up classic car identical to one from Top Gear
Former Top Gear and The Grand Tour host Richard Hammond has revealed he has bought another example of his favourite classic car.
The famous face regularly posts videos to the Drivetribe YouTube channel, which features content surrounding all types of cars, from iconic classics to the latest hyper-cars.
In his latest video, Richard announces that he has bought another 1962 Opel Kadett, very similar to ‘Oliver’, a car he drove across Botswana in a Top Gear special.
He explained: “If you don’t remember Oliver, it’s a 1962 Opel Kadett that I drove around Botswana on a certain car show more years ago than I care to remember. But he’s sitting here on the front lawn of what is unmistakably our own workshop. I didn’t just bring a box of tools and the lads this time, it’s an entire workshop.
“Because, in there, we’ve been working and restoring something very, very special which I want to show you. This has been the focus of our attention and isn’t it brilliant? This is Olivia, an absolutely matching 1962 Opel Kadett. It is Oliver’s girlfriend!”
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In the video, Richard explains that he had visited CarFest, a popular festival that celebrates a variety of vehicles and music, to promote his business The Smallest Cog, which features in the series Richard Hammond’s Workshop.
Whilst the TV show has previously seen Richard and the mechanics from the garage restore Oliver, the presenter revealed that he bought another example.
Other than being red and black, rather than lime green and white, the Opel is identical to the one that he drove on the programme, which will also be restored.
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Later in the video, Richard explains to viewers how he managed to get the classic, which was not originally sold in the UK.
He added: “I got an email from a guy called Jenico, he’s a South African airline pilot who lives in the UK, who said ‘I’ve got Olivia. I imported this car from Johannesburg, just as I did Oliver’, and he said would I be interested. Yes.
“Then I thought, oh, here we go, he’s got me. But it was incredibly reasonable, he asked, I suspect, less than what it’s worth. I went over to see it and it’s not bad. It’s got all the bits and pieces, a lot that Oliver doesn’t have, every bit of trim. It’s a complete car.”
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Richard noted that the car arrived at CarFest in pieces, with the mechanics putting the classic Opel back together during the show.
Whilst there were issues when the team installed the engine and got it running, by the end of the show the car was in one piece.
On the final day of the event, once the car was ready, Oliver and Olivia drove together for the first time, around the show’s track.
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