This year Top Gear’s Christmas special will be, for once, aired “at roughly the right time,” according to the production team. It’s a two-parter called Top Gear Patagonia and it happens in South America. For reasons that we will explain in a minute, this TG adventure could be their most exciting – and dangerous – ever.

Top Gear Patagonia special is an epic 1600-mile journey through Patagonia to the southernmost city in the world in Argentina. The TG trio negotiate swamps, deserts, forests, beaches, and ski slopes in three V8 sports car including a Porsche 928, a Lotus Esprit, and a Ford Mustang. There is no need to explain who is driving what, because as you know Richard Hammond is a muscle car fan, and Jeremy Clarkson is very fond of the 928. That leaves James May with the only British car in the convoy.

Originally, the plan was to stage a game of car football against Argentina when Top Gear arrived in the aforementioned southernmost city. But before they get to that, riot broke out in the city over the numberplate on Jeremy’s car, which read H982 FKL – a reference to the 1982 Falklands war between the UK and Argentina which Clarkson maintains was an unfortunate coincidence. Apparently, the presenters had to flee the city, hide under beds, and make their way out of the country clandestinely, which of course gave them a much more exciting ending than they could have ever dreamed for.

Part one of Top Gear Patagonia Christmas Special will air on Saturday 27 December, with part two showing on Sunday 28 December, both on BBC Two and BBC Two HD.

Via TopGear