Top Gear: Vietnam Special is a special 75-minute episode of the motoring series Top Gear, which was broadcast on 28 December 2008 at 8:00 pm on BBC Two. An edited 46 minute edition of the show was broadcast on the UK TV channel Dave in the 8.00pm - 9.00pm slot on Monday 19 January 2009. The edition was tightly edited to ensure the 75-minute special could fit into the one hour slot with commercial breaks on Dave. However recent repeats of the special on Dave are now in a 90-minute format showing the whole version due to complaints from viewers who thought the 46 minute edited version was unsatisfactory. A "Director's Cut" was released on Region 2 DVD in March 2009 as part of the Top Gear: The Great Adventures 2 set.
The challenge, to travel 1,000 miles (1,600 km) from Hồ Chí Minh City (Saigon), in the south of Vietnam to Hạ Long city, near Hanoi (Hà Nội) in the north in eight days, was undertaken by regular presenters Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May. The destination for this challenge was a floating dock in Ha Long Bay. The primary vehicles of this special were motorbikes.
Unlike normal episodes of Top Gear, in which the challenges were related to the abilities of the vehicles reviewed, such as the Toyota Hilux in the Top Gear Polar Special, producer Andy Wilman admitted that "the narrative of the film is a bit more skewed towards the three guys."
Read more about Top Gear: Vietnam Special: Route, Ending Credits, DVD Release
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