The Mongolia Special is the fourth special episode of the Amazon Prime motoring show The Grand Tour, and aired as part of the show's third season. It was set in the Central Asian nation of Mongolia. The episode saw the team spending six days traveling across the Mongolian Steppe in a home-made off-roader. It marked the first time ever that all three presenters have used a single vehicle in a special episode, including specials that were filmed for the BBC motoring show Top Gear. The episode was filmed in July 2018. It aired as the thirteenth and penultimate episode of the show's third series on the 5th of April, 2019. It is the thirty seventh episode of the show overall and is entitled Survival of the Fattest.
Synopsis[]
The trio are challenged with escaping the vast and unforgiving Mongolian Steppe using a small ration of food and other supplies from which they are tasked with constructing a small home-made off-roader. Once their off-roader is complete, they are challenged to drive it out towards Mörön, the nearest point of civilisation. Among the supplies is a map drawn in a particular style which emphasises certain landmarks that they are to encounter on their way towards Mörön.
Vehicles[]
| Vehicle | Make/Model | Driver |
|---|---|---|
 |
"John" | James May and Jeremy Clarkson |
The homemade off-roader is powered by Land Rover's 300TDi 2.5L turbodiesel engine and features a locking front differential with a low-range gear, producing 111 horsepower.
Production[]
The segment was filmed at the end of June 2018. Jeremy Clarkson personally states the special as an episode he hated filming, due to the rough conditions the trio encountered. Despite this, in his Q&A after his private screening at The Farmer's Dog Pub, he stated it was one of two he thinks was the best; the other being the Middle East Special.
Unfortunately, after production wrapped up, John could not be exported to Britain. This was because it was not a road legal vehicle, no less a proper car, and could not be sold.
Reception[]
Survival of the Fattest was met with universal acclaim, holding 9.8/10 ratings on IMDb and TVTime, a 9.5/10 rating on TVMaze, and an 86% score on Trakt.tv.
Trailer[]
