Some road trips are carefully planned. Others are questionable life choices. And then there is the journey undertaken by British adventurer Ollie Jenks and his Canadian friend Seth Scott: two men, one tiny three-wheeler, and a route that would give most full-sized SUVs pause.
The absurd idea that became historic
What started as an absurd idea between Jenks and Scott turned into a Guinness World Record attempt: driving a decade-old Reliant Robin from London to the southern tip of Africa. The car, a wobbly UK cult classic made of fiberglass, is better known for sitcom cameos than survival missions. But that did not stop them. They found one of the last models ever built, named her Sheila, and set off on a 14,000-mile journey across 22 countries.
A vehicle not built for glory
The Reliant Robin was designed for grocery runs, not epic expeditions. It has no power steering, no air conditioning, and an engine its own designer would not trust beyond 20 miles. Over four and a half months, Sheila did not just struggle—she rebelled. The gearbox gave up in Ghana, locking them in fourth gear. The engine essentially died in Cameroon. At one point, locals had to load the car onto a cattle truck just to find a mechanic.
Drama on the road
As if mechanical chaos was not enough, the route itself delivered drama. The duo rolled into Benin during an attempted coup, navigated northern Nigeria amid airstrikes, and required military escorts through Cameroon. They documented it all on Instagram under the handle "14,000 miles, 3 wheels, 0 common sense," drawing nearly 100,000 followers.
Limping to glory
Despite everything—breakdowns, borders, and basic logic—Sheila kept going. With help from strangers and long-distance advice from Reliant enthusiasts back in the UK, the trio crawled forward. They passed giraffes, rhinos, and elephants. They crossed deserts and mountains no three-wheeler should ever meet. After more than 120 days, Sheila finally rolled into Cape Town—overheating, rattling, and held together by duct tape and determination. "It was like driving a motorised coffin," Jenks admitted, as reported by the Associated Press.
Sheila's retirement
As for Sheila, she has earned her retirement. The battle-scarred Robin will now live on at the London Transport Museum—dents, scratches, broken windows, and zero common sense proudly on display.
