Autoblog and Yahoo may earn commission from links in this article.Sometimes, you've got to do something because it's a bad idea. When it comes to cars, that bad idea is almost always brought about because someone gets it in their head that the poor, unreliable old car deserves something. Seth Scott and Ollie Jenks had a bad idea. Their bad idea was a new one: taking a Reliant Robin from its home in the UK to Cape Town, South Africa. More than 120 days and a whole engine later, the two had done it, but as with every trip, the good part was in the getting there.London To Cape Town In A Three-Wheeled CarHold My GearSheila, the call the Robin. Poorly-equipped might have been a better word. Sheila was designed for motorists who could operate it without a license (owing to its motorcycle-derived engine) in 1970s Britain, when the most strain it would see was a country lane. Jenks and Shane picked a Robin that was among the last to be built, and was modified very little for the 14,000-mile trip.AdvertisementAdvertisementJenks and Shane bought the car last October before setting out. Easily the worst possible car for the trip, the little Robin had about as much horsepower as its namesake, no power steering, and no air conditioning. As a testament to its condition, Jenks told the AP: "We made friends with the designer of this car, and he's scared to take it any more than 20 miles."The two would go on to do a lot more than 20 miles. The 14,000-mile trip would cover 22 countries and two continents, setting a world record for the longest trip in a three-wheeled vehicle. To raise money for the trip, the two raised money from sponsors and crowdfunding. All told, the trip took over 18 weeks and some $40,000 to $50,000.Along the way, the two also helped raise money for School in a Bag. School in a Bag provides bright red backpacks with essential resources that enable poor, orphaned, vulnerable, and disaster-affected children worldwide to write, draw, color, and learn.Need New Tires? Save Up To 30% at Tire RackFind the perfect tires for your exact vehicle and driving style. Click here to shop all top-tier brands, including Michelin, Bridgestone, and more, directly at Tire Rack.Africa, An Instagram Reel At A TimeHold My GearThe journey was documented entirely on the Instagram page created by the pair: Hold My Gear. A very pithy and British "14,000 miles, 3 wheels, 0 common sense" is written in the bio. The pair's documentation of the trip on Instagram is how their 92,000 followers were kept up with Sheila's litany of breakdowns and the ups and downs of life on the road in Africa.AdvertisementAdvertisementViewed behind a keyboard, their exploits sound like a good old-fashioned adventure, but getting stuck in an attempted coup in Benin, placating corrupt cops across Africa, and riding in a military convoy in Cameroon is only glorious in the rearview. Many mornings, followers were met with some version of "we're %*(#$" or "this might be it." The two were stuck in Ghana as their visas ran out, waiting desperately for the parts they needed to mend a battered Sheila.At one point, Sheila up and died. After tens of thousands of miles, the two opted to keep going despite it. Sourcing a new engine from Europa, the two waited for it to arrive in Africa, where they tore out the old, dead motor and put in a new one. Plenty of other problems plagued the Robin, from new suspension just two weeks in, to a busted gearbox in Ghana, to a parade of clutch and distributor issues in Cameroon, all without air conditioning. The driving was anything but pleasant. "Like driving a motorized coffin," said Jenks.Despite it all, after more than four and a half months on the road, the Robin limped into Cape Town on its second engine, one that was slowly going the way of the first. It was overheating and had been giving them trouble since somewhere in the Namibian desert.Now, Sheila rests. After a drive up to Kenya, a boat ride to Turkey, and another final jaunt back to the UK, the car will be placed in the London Transport Museum.Hold My Gear Tours The World CupAs for what's next, the two will tour the World Cup's list of destinations, coming down from Canada and across the US and into Mexico in a very suspect London black cab. The car needs loads of work, but the trip will be nearly as massive as the first, spanning three countries, 10,000 miles, and 16 World Cup Stadiums.AdvertisementAdvertisementThis story was originally published by Autoblog on Jun 7, 2026, where it first appeared in the Features section. Add Autoblog as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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