Englishman Ollie Jenks and his friend, Canadian Seth Scott, are lovers of cars and crazy adventures. That’s what prompted them to drive a decades-old British-made Reliant Robin car from London to the southern trip of Africa — a 14,000-mile journey through 22 countries — to set a record for the longest trip in a 3-wheeled vehicle. Reliant Robins have cult like status in the U.K. but went out of production in the early 2000s. Unfortunately, one couldn’t find a less suitable vehicle to take thousands of miles through tropical jungles, mountain ranges and deserts down the west side of Africa, but that’s precisely why Jenks and Scott went for the absurd plan. Sheila —the silver three-wheeler and one of the last Reliant Robins to be built — was acquired specifically for the adventure. Jenks and Scott set off in October with a can of fuel, a few essential supplies strapped to Sheila’s small roof, and a large amount of blind hope that they would somehow make it to Cape Town, South Africa, near the bottom of the world. No power steering, no air conditioning, and the car doesn’t do well going up and down hills. Yet, the pair ignored all the advice and took Sheila on the epic journey over 4½ months that cost in the neighborhood of $50,000. They had help from sponsors and crowd funding, documenting their journey on Instagram. After attempted coups, airstrikes, and mechanical failures, they finally rattled into Cape Town 120 days later. There, Sheila was put on temporary display, her broken side window, gas-stained windshield, bent tire rims and countless dents and scratches garnering the attention of onlookers. She will now rest and be given the thorough service she deserves. Eventually, she’ll be driven to Kenya, put on a ship to Turkey, and make one last trip back to the U.K. to find a home at the London Transport Museum.
