A bit of history for those that say we should just "give back" the Falklands to Argentina. The Falkland Isles were a British territory before Argentina even existed as a country.. The islands have never been "owned" or occupied by Argentina. In a referendum the inhabitants voted by over 99% to remain British.. The reason Argentina wanted the Falklands was for the oil reserves that were discovered near the islands.
@@CoL_Drake Argentina itself was colonised by the Spanish, so by your logic Argentinians need to pack up and leave Argentina as they have no ownership of that land.
The islanders were not originally from the place. They were implanted by UK. It is logical that they prefer to remain British. Now, some historical facts: France discovers the islands. Spain obtains the islands from the French. The current Argentina becomes independent from Spain and succeeds it in its territorial possessions. Argentina sends a governor to the islands. Uk invades the islands, expels the governor and the population to the mainland (Argentina). 150 years later Argentina tries to recover the islands. Argentina loses the war. A group of TV presenters visit Argentina and make fun of the hosts for a war that Argentines still mourn. Some real jerks.
If the people who live on the islands want to remain British and be linked to the UK then that should be the end of the discussion. Still no way to behave even if they are still angry about it 🤷♂
The Falkland Islands are a British Overseas Territory. They govern themselves entirely internally and the British government is only responsible for their foreign affairs and guarantees their security. The Falkland Islanders are the only people who can decide which country they align with/belong to, and they have overwhelmingly chosen the UK in referendums. The Falkland Islands have never belonged to Argentina, though at one point they did belong to Spain. The people who live there are mostly people of British descent. The Argentinians have literally no claim on them except they want them for the oil in the region.
As James May mentioned in the first part, up until that point the Argentine locals had been very friendly to all the Top Gear team. The mobs were essentially veterans or hardcore nationalists, which you can find in any country.
@@billdoor3140 Weird comment to generalise a whole population based on a few. If that's the case, then historically Brits aren't exactly known for fair play and decency either.
Apparently they call them “Losers “ they can win all the football games they like with their hand of god cheating style. But when it comes to war I’m happy to go again let’s see what happens.
IIRC the General Belgrano (formerly the USS Phoenix) was based at Tierra Del Fuego, she was sank by a British submarine in international waters outside the exclusion zone, the sinking was highly controversial, something like half the Argentine war fatalities were on the Belgrano.
@@luvstellauk ahh well never mind...end of the day they were being underhanded ready to attack but hiding a few Miles into international waters. This ain't football. They tried to be sneaky and found out that won't work with British military
They should be more angry at their own government really, as they were made up of mostly young inexperienced conscripts drafted up by their government to go and put their lives at risk for the sake of a tiny island.
As for their "illegal" crossing into Chile, I don't think they would've have minded as it was the Chilean government that provided the British forces with much needed intelligence and support during the Falkland Island War.
As Mrs Thatcher told Al Haig, (US Envoy), “Didn’t the US go to war when Hawaii was attacked by Japan”! [Rhetorical]. Enough said, as Clarkson would say!
I agree we had to go to war. But 1. Freedom of information act released documents showed milk snatcher Thatcher was actually against any action and panicked the M.O.D had to talk her into it by explaining Britain had multiple territories and if we let a poorly equipped military like Argentina take fawlklands countries like China would send troops to Hong Kong. And B. Pearl Harbour is a awful companion. It wasn't an invasion it was a bombing campaign to destroy the American fleet.
The Porsche Registration Plate had FKL982 in it. Which they decided was Falklands 1982 which was when the war was fought. The Top Gear crew where to go through an area where most of the Argentinian Sailors where from that were killed (333) when the General Belgrano was sank by a British Submarine. Btw the only Nuclear Sub to ever sink a Ship during a war. There is now as many UK military personnel on the Falklands than there is civilians. The Argies got upset a few years ago when the UK had a Type 45 Destroyer in the Falklands and said it was an act of aggression. At the time it was said the Ship could fire enough missiles to wipe out the entire Argie Airforce before they even got off the ground.
The main issue was that the town, Ushwara, was from where the battleship General Belgrano sailed and was sunk by a British submarine. The Argentinians believed the registration plate on Jeremy's car, FLK 982 was a direct reference to the Falklands and the year of the conflict. How wise the BBC were to go there in the first place is open to debate.
Argentine police, about as effective as their military ! Love Top Gear suggest King Boomer lightens the mood and next checks out Top Gear Vietnam special, it's out there KB, I just watched again on You Tube
@@miff227 I doubt it H982 Fkl is meaningless unless you really reach H982 is meant to mean a year? Bs. Surely *I982* would have been the choice there? And why does FKL mean Falklands? FalKLands... nah, it would be either FAL or FLK if you really wanted that messege to hit. Or MAL or MLV. Top gear is not subtle with offensive humour. If they had meant to make a joke about the Falklands war, they would have drawn attention to it and been far less dependent on some geek on the Internet to conspiracy theory this shit
@@Moleoflands well it’s as close as you’ll get with 3 letters isn’t it, of course It was intentional, they had to be subtle with this one and they meant it IMO
From what I remember a few years back a poll was produced for the inhabitants of the Falkland Islands, and the results came back at something like 99.4% of the population are happy to remain English/British and to not have the Falkland Island turned over to Argentina. In my opinion the Falkland Islands are English and if the inhabitants say they want to remain under British rule then let them and end the petty squabbling from the Argentine people.
As a veteran of that war, I would just like to point out that while the Argentine navy and army under-performed, their air force did very well and showed a lot of guts. I remember seeing a couple of them flying in only 30ft above the sea into San Carlos Bay on bombing runs taking AA fire from all directions. They scored some big hits, too. It takes watermelon-sized nads to do that, whatever country you're from.
Como argentino te digo que el verdadero ejército argentino estaba en la frontera con Chile esperando que se habrá un segundo frente, lastimosamente casi el 70% o más de los soldados eran niños no entrenados, tarde o temprano habrá otra guerra si Dios quiere
Lastimosamente se tubo que dejar a las islas para seguir siendo el 8vo país más grande del mundo, pero te aseguro que jamás renunciaremos a nuestra tierra, así tengamos que perder 1000 guerras más, así tengamos que esperar 1000 reinas muertas, el tiempo lo dirá
@@mauri1011 We colonised the islands before your country even existed. Why don't you leave your lands as they aren't yours either, they belong to natives, oh wait you probably killed most of them, well the Spanish did anyway.
The locals had taken offense to the license plate of the Porsche, which read "H982 FKL". The protesters believed that the number plate was a direct reference to the 1982 Falklands War, fought between Argentina and the United Kingdom, and that it was a fake, deliberately designed for this specific trip to their country. As for the Falklands war itself, allegedly potential oil and mineral rights played a big part.
As did distracting the people from poor internal conditions under a dictatorship. Just like Putin is doing now... (He'd like the oil and coal too - and everything else.)
there were two other cars with plates showing the number of killed in action, on the British as well as the Argentine side... very disrespectful to both sides.
@@el_Contra The opposite, really. If it was some intentional ploy, surely showing both sides' war dead is actually more respectful, to highlight the unnecessary deaths from the conflict?
@@Perseus7567 their idea was to stage a two car soccer/football game with a giant ball, the cars having plates with the number of dead as if a soccer/football score, nothing more disrespectful than to trivialize the number of casualties of the conflict as if a score in a game.
The issue with the Falklands for the Argentinians is less that they want them and more than we sunk their flagship which they say was illegal but even the captain of the ship and the generals of the time said it was a fair target. It was a huge death count on that sinking and most of the crew were from around that area so it's a bit of a sore spot for them.
An old boy from my school was the 1st Mate on the Sub that sank the Belgrano. We cheered at the news of the sinking. That's a long time ago and knew no better.
@@galaxspace1 It’s just the way it is in war,you celebrate the destruction of the enemy…. Happened in just the same way when the Ukrainians sank the Moskva,everyone that supported the Ukrainians were understandably very happy that the flagship had gone to the bottom.
The two negotiating positions during the 1960's where as follows. UK Government: "We can't talk about handing over sovereignty till we have sought the views of the Islanders." Argentine Government: "We first gain sovereignty - then decide what is best for the Islanders." After the negotiations stalled, the Argentines took the Islands by gun point in 1982 and put the Islanders under military occupation.
The UN hasn't exactly helped matters either. At one point, the UN members voted on a resolution demanding that Britain give up the islands under the UN Charter's clause on respecting territorial integrity - completely subverting that clause and ignoring the fact that it's never been part of Argentina.
also when this part of the special hits at the very end, you just feel bereft of emotions, cause the first 2/3rds of the special, you are laughing your ass off and it was actually one of their better specials. This episode just turns that tone upside down
I was thinking that, when watching the King react to just this little bit. The bigger part of the episode was super chill and fun, no issue whatsoever. I never looked at the Porsche's plate once, they never gave it any importance either, there was nothing at all to justify this, heck, even understand it. Oh well.
I lived and worked all around South America and as an Englishman was pretty much welcomed everywhere. The only sh*t I got was for saying "Thanks mate" to a young guy filling my boat fuel tank and he said back "I'm not your f*cking mate, pal". This was after he listened to my classic Cuban music album for an hour. Go figure!
That was the last Episode of Season 22 before Top Gear got new Presenters, and Jeremy, James And Richard were given an Estimated 160 million by Amazon to do The Grand Tour which is now in it's 5th season.
Even though this special didn't go according to plan the Argie's would of still hated the ending as the crew were welcomed into Chile. These 2 haven't got on for years and with Chile supporting the UK in the Falklands war and helped immensely I still thought it was a good ending lol
@@amandab4978 bit pedantic love... its UA-cam ffs. And in 2022 I think ones understanding of the English language and the way they type can be viewed as separate.
The BBC was cleared of all wrong doing, the plate H982 FKL has been associated with the Porsche 928 that was used during the shoot since the day the car was manufactured. So it's a bit of a stretch to actually be able to track down a vehicle with a plate you knew would cause offence, not to mention bloody reckless. Thankfully they were in Argentina, and the Argies showed as much bottle and fighting spirit as they did in the Falklands war. And yes they had to abandon all 3 vehicles. The last known location was an impound in Tierra del fuego. The BBC tried to get them back in 2017 but were told the cars were shredded and compacted into nut size pieces, so hey something good came our of it, the Argies finally have some nuts.
I met an Argentine girl on tinternet and we were planning to meet etc. She said it could be difficult because of the history between our two countries etc. I agreed and we talked for a long time. Eventually I discovered she was talking about the war.....I was talking about the football!!!
Argentina, who have never settled, lived on or administrated an archipelago of islands better known in the UK as the Falkland Islands, base their extremely tenuous claim to them on the grounds of their proximity to the Argentinian mainland - about 400 miles. So on that basis, the UK which is an archipelago of islands approximately 21 miles off the French coast, apparently must belong to France???
Well that's a little different because Celtic Britons live on the Uk islands thousands of years before there was a France. I take your point but they aren't equal circumstances.
France discovers the islands. Spain obtains the islands from the French. The current Argentina becomes independent from Spain and succeeds it in its territorial possessions. Argentina sends a governor to the islands. Uk invades the islands, expels the governor and the population to the mainland (Argentina). 150 years later Argentina tries to recover the islands. Argentina loses the war. A group of TV presenters visit Argentina and make fun of the hosts for a war that Argentines still mourn. Some real jerks.
I think the sinking of the Belgrano, their ship, sold to them by America, was the main reason they're still pissed. The loss, of I believe, 383 crew members, sunk by an English nuclear submarine has a lot to do with their hatred.
So the premise of the episode was a top gear christmas special. In where they were talking about v8 engines dying out cause nobody was using them anymore. So they gathered 3 old V8 cars Jeremy in the Porsche. Richard in the Ford Mustang. And James in the lotus. The challenge was to drive these three cars 1,600 miles from the top of chille down to the bottom on Argentina to try build a bridge. Of like peace and trust between the Argentina and Britain.
The premise of this special was a big road trip town Argentina and Chile, eventually leading to them playing car football against some Argentinians. The rest of the special is a fun episode and nothing truly goes wrong until this point.
Not just the Falklands ,there has been bad feeling since the 1966 World cup and several disgraceful World Cup matches including the disgraceful 86 "goal " by an overrated cheat . Relations thaw occasionally but not often . The conclusion of this was pretty predictable , although the number plates were a bit suspicious . Relations are so bad at times it was a really daft idea if it was done by the production .
It wasn’t, you can check the registration history. The “protesters” invented a problem. I guarantee you they would have found a number to offend them because they were desperate to find a reason to be offended. Pretty sad.
It wasn't the production. The number plate was supposedly a coincidence, the car had been registered in 1991 and it wasn't bought specially just to go to Argentina. The BBC refused to apologise after an Argentinian ambassador demanded an apology and said they would air the footage instead, to show a true representation of what actually happened. The protestors didn't believe it was a coincidence because Jeremy Clarkson and they weren't satisfied with temporarily changing the plates. Clarkson, May and Hammond stayed with the women on the crew and left via the airport.
I'm not passing judgment on reality here, but, what you see in the clip (also in Alabama), is very easily staged. Think about it. Where actually were all the angry folks?....🙌
@@thomasnieswandt8805 er.. you might want to check out the IMDb pages of the “offended locals” in Alabama before you confidently declare it wasn’t staged!
@@PippetWhippetYeah, the "radio show" part of that never made sense to me. All three of the presenters' cars had cameras in them. How could they not have any footage?
There is an English channel called Dave, where we can watch old series on ukplay. I loved the scenery, but there was some controversy over a registration plate on the Porsche
To me there is only one angle and that was that Argentina at the time was a military dictatorship and it was passed down from generation to generation that the Falkland Islands belong to Argentina just as Putin feels Ukrain is part of Russia back when. A dictatorship invaded an Island which contained British people and if Britain had done nothing and human nature being what it is would have ment other dictators would think invasion is the way forward. Regardless leaders must think of today forward not look back at history with envy and desire because we just end up with more wars. At the time of the Falklands war Galtieri was having serious civil unrest and accused of killing thousands of his own people for political reasons and a war is always a good distraction.
Greetings King Boomer, I know the Argentinians chanced their arm in invading the Falkland Islands, but it does seem that they believed that Britain wouldn't fight. The people down there didn't take too kindly to be being bossed around by Argentine troops, and in particular the staff of the islands radio station, who had guns pushed in their backs. The argentine government still indulge in a spot of sabre rattling from time to time. If you put it in perspective, prime minister Thatcher I think was asked why Britain was willing to commit combat forces for some small islands a long way from Britain, her reply was something along the lines of, oh, you mean a bit like the Hawaiian Islands.
In recent freedom of information act released documents show mik snatcherThatcher actually panicked and didn't want to fight. She'd cut military spending along with everything else the M.O.D had to explain to her that Britain had multiple territories and if we let a poorly equipped military like Argentina take fawlklands countries like China would send troops to Hong Kong as ths world would know Britain wouldn't fight.
I believe the reg plate of the Porsche was proven to be a coincidence as it had never been changed in its history. Look at anything long enough and you will find a link with something else. Bit like seeing familiar shapes in clouds.
You should definitely do a reaction to Porridge its a British classic and one of my favorite shows there are also a couple of movies but I am sure you would love it
They were just bitter, they are shit at war, argentina to falklands is 945 miles, Great Britain to falklands 8064 miles, they still couldn't win with a huge geographical advantage.
We should have taken another task force to escort the Top Gear crew and just invaded. It would have been over in two weeks and Argentina would be British. Always thought we should have pushed on to the mainland in '82 anyway. Teach the buggers a proper lesson.
It was because Jeremy clarksons licence plate was ‘H1982 FKL ‘ which reads 1982 Falkland’s . Which is taking the piss out of them. Apparently in an interview with James may that plate was not chosen by the production team and was genetically given for that car. The chances of that are like ridiculously unlikely but who knows. Funny either way. The argies are still sore
I think that the claim to the Falkland Islands is only a small part of the reason behind this violence against the Top Gear team. You will have seen they make fun of the Germans, The numberplate of one of the cars appeared to be a blatant reminder of the 1982 conflict (H982 FKL) The war veterans and a section of the population still probably feel very bitter about the loss of the war and pointless loss of life, and saw an opportunity to hit out. Official reported casualties were 650 on the Argentine side with most informed commentators estimating more than 1500. 260 UK. 3 Falkland civilians died It is an amazing place tho’ Penguins, Seals, Elephant seals, Massive bull sea lions, taller than you just on their flippers. All blissfully unafraid of the human population having had little or no threat from them ever. A Cara Cara nicked my lunch, and almost my hat! Discovered in 1592 by England. Claimed in 1594. Almost 300 years before Argentina was formed.
Actually the gun laws in Argentina seem to be pretty relaxed just with a lot of red tape, not too dissimilar to many US states. I'm almost 100 sure at least 30% of those "protesters" were armed so it's a miracle no one was seriously hurt. Kinda unrelated but ironically despite the UK having a almost a completely ban on firearms (for all the good it's done 🤦♂️) The Falklands has one of the highest legal gun ownership rates in the world and one of the lowest crime rates.
It has done a lot of good. How many schoolchild have been shot in class since Dunblain? How many mass shootings? Are you seriously suggesting things would be better with relaxed rules? Are you comparing an island with a few hundred, mostly older people to one with 65 million thats a hub for the world and has one of the most populated cities in the world? 🤦♂
@@Gambit771 and how many were shot before then? Mass shootings are a terrible example of gun violence because it's almost an exclusively US issue, there are 175+ countries with legal gun rights and only 1 with a reoccurring mass shooting problem. The only thing banning guns has done in the UK is meant criminals have moved to more brutal methods of inflicting pain. Knives, hammers, acid etc. Crime rate has barley changed since before the handgun ban and the laws have just got harder and harder for citizens to legally defend themselves, yeah that definitely sounds like progress. And no I never made any comparison, you did, I just pointed out facts. Please read and educate yourself before trying to act smart again, you've only got so many brain cells to kill
@@Gambit771 some people are just dumb mate probably why there's mass shooting ever other month in America but banning gun doesn't work ...America in a nut shell
They thought the registration on the Porsche was a deliberate reference to the war. Andy Willman the executive producer of Top Gear at the time says it was the only thing they where ever accused of doing that they where incent of. He says it was a coincidence.
I can think of one reason why they'd want them (putting asside historical claims, who actually lives there, national pride, who won the war etc)... they did find oil off the islands not too many years ago... so there's that.
According to some friends in Argentina at the time, they said that some local politician was trying to get reelected or something, and they used Top Gear's arrival as a way to rally people and gain popularity over the radio, and this is what caused this.
The car registration remains a mystery. It sure looks deliberately provocative. The odds of it being a coincidence are very low, despite what the TV crew claimed.
No, they didn't do it on purpose. The number plate on the Porsche, the 'H982 FLK', was given to that specific Porsche the day the car was first registered in line with the number plate standards and legislation at the time. Multiple examinations at the time showed that the number plate in question had always been assigned to that Porsche. Additionally, in the year the production team bought the car, there was only two of those Porsches for sale in the entirety of the UK. Clarkson chose the one he did because the colour reminded him of the car he said goodbye to his father with. None of the other car number plates matched the number of dead in the war either, despite some people claiming the opposite. Richard Hammond's car had the numbers '646', whereas the Argentinian dead was '649'. James May's car had the numbers '269' despite there being 255 British dead. And again, tracking the history of both cars it is possible to see both cars had their number plates for a very long time before Top Gear purchased them.
All around one giant coincidence blown out of proportion by some violent ultra-nationalists.
You should watch the whole episode of this as they have a very close shave on a mountain of the most dangerous road, it is very stressful. I've never seen Clarkson genuinely shit himself
Clarksons number plate on the porsche read "H982 FLK" and it is said that this was in reference to the falklands war.......Or that was what the argentines thought. How true it is that this was the plate the car originally had was and still is very much under debate. Although the show said that it was not changed and was the original plate the car had from new it has always thought this was done on purpose.
There is no debate over it. You can research the cars history. It had that numberplate for 20+ years and was one of only two 928 for sale in the UK that year. And Clarkson wanted that car in this colour. Because (as he said in the special) this was the car, that allowed him to say goodbye to his dad, and when the producers said, that they wanted a Porsche for this trip, Clarkson looked for a similar car.
@@thomasnieswandt8805 there is and there always will be and it does not matter what anyone says. people will always have their own opinion and lets be honest it was not the best plate to take there lol
@@paganpriestess979 As James May said in an interview, you have to want to see it as a reference. It’s simply not one. It’s only now people have made a big deal out of it that everyone noticed the coincidence of 982 and FLK. It was only ultra nationalists that actually made the point… normal people didn’t.
@@paganpriestess979 people “debate” whether the earth is flat- that doesn’t mean we take their points seriously. Flat earthers and Clarksons number plate conspiritard’s both have one thing in common. To sustain their belief, they both have to believe in a cabal of lizard people who rule the world from the shadows. This is because they have to account for vast numbers of people with no reason to lie, lying, and the ability to fabricate evidence beyond the ability for humans to fabricate. And they of course believe the lizard people are Jews, because at their root, conspiritards are antisemetic.
@@JBLFC92 this is the stupidest crap I've ever heard. 982 flk isn't a coincidence ffs 🤣 when they went to Germany they had 1966 plates 🙄 you REALLY THINK they just happened to take a car with the same year the fawlklands war happened with a plate showed that year and flk? 🤣🤣🤣
Clarkson's number plate had 'FKL 982'....or Falklands 1982 😂😂 apparently it wasn't deliberate but any fan of the show knows that more than likely jezza done it on the sly.
Nah the likely hood of that actually being deliberate is actually very small. It’s a very Clarkson thing to do of course but he doesn’t choose the number plate and it’s a very rare car
The Inbetweeners episode The Duke of Edinburgh Award is the episode you have to watch if Jay is your Favorite. It interrupted the episode of Jeremy Clarkson and Top Gear Argentina. The Inbetweeners scene in the old ladies bedroom is unbelievable and must NOT be missed.
As an Argentine i can tell that he real fury came when someone realized one of the top gear cars' plate had a direct reference to the war (H982 FKL) then they find associations on the other plates about the deads on the war, and everything when mad. We don't now if the crew of top gear did it on purpose but it shouldn't.
No, they didn't do it on purpose. The number plate on the Porsche, the 'H982 FLK', was given to that specific Porsche the day the car was first registered in line with the number plate standards and legislation at the time. Car history is regularly available in the UK, and multiple examinations at the time showed that the number plate in question had always been assigned to that Porsche. Additionally, in the year the production team bought the car, there was only two of those Porsches for sale in the entirety of the UK. Clarkson chose the one he did because he colour reminded him of the car he said goodbye to his father with. None of the other car number plates matched the number of dead in the war either. Richard Hammond's car had the numbers '646', whereas the Argentinian dead was '649'. James May's car had the numbers '269' despite there being 255 British dead. And again, tracking the history of both cars it is possible to see both cars had their number plates for a very long time before Top Gear purchased them. All around one giant coincidence blown out of proportion by some violent ultra-nationalists.
I’ve got a sneaky feeling Jeremy knew exactly what he was doing with the number plates but when you see a car with “Las Malvinas son Argentinos” it’s really not a good sign 😂
Very unlikely since he's said all along he actually had a joke plate with him the whole time but didn't have chance to use it, honestly these specific Argentinians that got offended over literally nothing are nothing more than snowflake scum. It'd be like us Brits getting offended if a American drives a car with a plate ending in 76
They didnt. James said it in an interview. He said (meaning not word for word) "What nonsense is that? there were two 928 cars for sale in the UK that year. This one had its numberplate for 20+ years. of corse we can say ""oh it shows the falkland war"" btw it doesnt. But you can interprete all lot of things in existing stuff"
People moan at us British for colonising. Yet people before us did it, for example the vikings. Don't just complain about us. It's part of our history. Our dark times show how far we've come. Things were different back then.
Argentina used to have a fascist government so it is no suprise that the veterans who were the enforcers of said fascist government would act like that.
Apparently the number plate that was mentioned had reference to the argentinian casualties on the sinking of the battle ship belgrano torpedoed by a British submarine.
That turned out to be false though. Any supposed reference was just a coincidence. The Porsche had always had that number plate, it was the original plate that came with the car, and it was one of only two Porsches for sale in the UK when the show bought it.
Just a reminder about a war story that you may like, featuring the narration by Jeremy Clarkson. The Greatest Raid of All Time: ua-cam.com/video/07Zd0Oy8JyQ/v-deo.html It's about 1 hour, so you may want to split it, but it's an epic story.
The Scots Guards fought their best men, the 5th marine infantry battalion on Mount Tumbledown & swept them off the peaks. Never given the real credit for it by the Thatcher government & that is just an incontrovertible fact. For me the Falklands war will always bring to mind the memory of Marine Gordon Cameron MacPherson from 45 Commando Arbroath Scotland, killed in action in the successful taking of Two Sisters mountains on the 12th June 1982. A brave Sottish laddie & he is loved.
No, they didn't do it on purpose. The number plate on the Porsche, the 'H982 FLK', was given to that specific Porsche the day the car was first registered in line with the number plate standards and legislation at the time. Car history is regularly available in the UK, and multiple examinations at the time showed that the number plate in question had always been assigned to that Porsche. Additionally, in the year the production team bought the car, there was only two of those Porsches for sale in the entirety of the UK. Clarkson chose the one he did because he colour reminded him of the car he said goodbye to his father with. None of the other car number plates matched the number of dead in the war either. Richard Hammond's car had the numbers '646', whereas the Argentinian dead was '649'. James May's car had the numbers '269' despite there being 255 British dead. And again, tracking the history of both cars it is possible to see both cars had their number plates for a very long time before Top Gear purchased them.
All around one giant coincidence blown out of proportion by some violent ultra-nationalists.
The license plate was the the thing that sparked it off, FKL 1982 was seen as Falkland 1982 ,which was when the war was.I don’t know if it was a genuine mistake or Clarkson being a muppet.I like Clarkson but he can be controversial 👍🏻
There is no debate over it. You can research the cars history. It had that numberplate for 20+ years and was one of only two 928 for sale in the UK that year. And Clarkson wanted that car in this colour. Because (as he said in the special) this was the car, that allowed him to say goodbye to his dad, and when the producers said, that they wanted a Porsche for this trip, Clarkson looked for a similar car. In the same way you say that numberplate has any meaning, you could also say "the american emergency-number was a hint to 9/11"
@@thomasnieswandt8805 Interesting. I didn't know that history. So it's purely a coincidence? I imagine that Clarkson at least knew that it could be offensive and was probably happy about that (just knowing how he is about these kinds of things).
@@thomasnieswandt8805 Of course there's a debate over it. It wouldn't be difficult for the producers to search out second hand cars with a numberplate that referenced the war, and build the car type premise around it. Top Gear have used running gag numberplates before, and it would be a massive stretch to suggest it's just "coincidence" when it was so obvious in its reference to the war. Also it was a diplomatic incident, so it's not a stretch to suggest that both Jeremy Clarkson and the rest of the Top Gear team would bullshit their way out of it to avoid any further conflict. Not suggesting that Jeremy's story about his dad is bullshit though.
@@SirHilaryManfat It wouldn't be too difficult to find a car with the number plate? Do you know how unlikely it is to find one? First, the car would have needed to have first been registered in Maidstone in order to have "KL" in it. It's about a 1 in 500 chance for the car to be from officially from Maidstone. And that's just based on the possible registration locations, and doesn't even include where companies actually set up their factories at the time. Secondly, the car would have needed the plate to have "982" in it. That already reduces it down to just 21 potential candidates, as there is only one "982" per letter of the alphabet, of which only 21 letters of the alphabet were in use between 1974 and 2001. Only 21 cars, of which there is a 1-in-500 chance it's from Maidstone. Already not looking good. Then, there's the untold odds. Such as: 1. It needing to be car they can make a theme around, and not some generic boring every day car. 2. It had to be available to purchase around the time they needed to purchase it. 3. That the car had never had a number plate change in it's lifetime. 4. That the car was still running and useable. "it wouldn't be too difficult" my ass. Okay then, you seem pretty confident that it's easy. Go ahead, find me a car with a number plate that references the First World War. I'll even help you: You're looking for a car registered in either 2014 or 2018, as those are the years you'll need. You're looking for a car that has 'GER', 'BEL', 'FRA', 'UK' or 'GB', 'SER', 'RUS', or 'AUS' as part or entirely the last three letters. If you really want to increase the odds, we can allow 'USA, 'GAS' or 'WWI'. It has to currently be for sale, the plate has to be original, and the car has to be running and in working condition. Not up for the task? Too time-consuming? Too unlikely to happen? Exactly.
On a personal note l am sure that Porsche that caused all the controversy was parked in my street in Kingston Upon Thames as there is no forgetting that number plate.
@@MikeWilsonBarrett No long time before. I think late 90's that car was in Buckingham Road, Kingston Upon Thames. I saw it new with working windscreenwipers quite sure. Unless there was many of these Porsche models with FLK number plates knocking around. I could be wrong it just makes that experience they suffered more real to me.
The locals had taken offense to the license plate of the Porsche, which read "H982 FKL". The protesters believed that the number plate was a direct reference to the 1982 Falklands War. In my mind the could easily be intentional. So...oh ,well.
No, they didn't do it on purpose. The number plate on the Porsche, the 'H982 FLK', was given to that specific Porsche the day the car was first registered in line with the number plate standards and legislation at the time. Car history is regularly available in the UK, and multiple examinations at the time showed that the number plate in question had always been assigned to that Porsche. Additionally, in the year the production team bought the car, there was only two of those Porsches for sale in the entirety of the UK. Clarkson chose the one he did because he colour reminded him of the car he said goodbye to his father with. None of the other car number plates matched the number of dead in the war either. Richard Hammond's car had the numbers '646', whereas the Argentinian dead was '649'. James May's car had the numbers '269' despite there being 255 British dead. And again, tracking the history of both cars it is possible to see both cars had their number plates for a very long time before Top Gear purchased them.
All around one giant coincidence blown out of proportion by some violent ultra-nationalists.
Britain and Argentina had been torn over the islands before. I forget the date, but it was like a solid 200 years or so before any fighting actually broke out. In those 200 years, not a word was said. Not until am Argentine dictator ran into some popularity problems and decided taking the islands back would make him popular again. The islands have no strategic value and at the time, only had some sheep farms making them not all that financially valuable. But they did have one thing worth fighting for. The people who had lived under British rule for over 200 years are prouder to be British than most Brits. They want British rule and to abandon them to Argentine rule would be like abandoning one of Britain's own counties. Argentina's justification was to distract from their dictators incompetence. Britain's justification was to protect the freedom and the sovereignty of the people of the islands. I would argue that Britain had the best justification. I find it crazy that Argentines still find it such a sore spot. Especially since not many Argentines cared about the islands before the war. They only cared after they lost. There is an awesome UA-cam channel if you don't know it called oversimplified. They tell historical stories in a way even the dumbest children can follow and back then up with some comedy and some great animations. Well worth a look and they have a video on the Falklands War
The British built most of Argentina's infrastructure after the Spanish had left. Unfortunately, that gratitude was lost when they thought they could appropriate British territory without consequences.
A bit of history for those that say we should just "give back" the Falklands to Argentina. The Falkland Isles were a British territory before Argentina even existed as a country.. The islands have never been "owned" or occupied by Argentina. In a referendum the inhabitants voted by over 99% to remain British.. The reason Argentina wanted the Falklands was for the oil reserves that were discovered near the islands.
just because u colonized and the colony wasnt independent u can say u owend it first ... by that logic u own india first too xD
@@CoL_Drake So its Argentinas based on what logic
@@CoL_Drake Argentina itself was colonised by the Spanish, so by your logic Argentinians need to pack up and leave Argentina as they have no ownership of that land.
To be clear, when the Spanish colonised the land they committed genocide on the population, so Argentinians are of Spanish decent.
@@CoL_Drake I think you missed the point, not what he was saying in the slightest. I suggest you get out of your feelings and bigotry.
To be honest I am suprised that a mob of 300 Argentines would take on 30 Brits. They usually need better odds than that.
It was 300 cars not 300 people, there was more than 1 person per car, presumably.
Idiotic comment
oh put it away why don't you.
@@kernowchris how about he doesn't and you stop yapping off?
Nah... we have long arms... they can reach further than theirs 😉
The islanders had a referendum to see if they wanted to remain a British territory, the result was 99.1% in favour to do so!
The islanders were not originally from the place. They were implanted by UK. It is logical that they prefer to remain British. Now, some historical facts: France discovers the islands. Spain obtains the islands from the French. The current Argentina becomes independent from Spain and succeeds it in its territorial possessions. Argentina sends a governor to the islands. Uk invades the islands, expels the governor and the population to the mainland (Argentina). 150 years later Argentina tries to recover the islands. Argentina loses the war. A group of TV presenters visit Argentina and make fun of the hosts for a war that Argentines still mourn. Some real jerks.
@@nonododero1918 it’s the UK who populated the islands NOT SPAIN or FRANCE!! We did the British
@@williebauld1007 no... They are from the UK since 1833..Before that, it was a small population.The governor was Luis Maria Vernet...
@@camiloleg before him it was again British people
They put up more resistance here than they did in the actual war...
If the people who live on the islands want to remain British and be linked to the UK then that should be the end of the discussion.
Still no way to behave even if they are still angry about it
🤷♂
The Falkland Islands are a British Overseas Territory. They govern themselves entirely internally and the British government is only responsible for their foreign affairs and guarantees their security. The Falkland Islanders are the only people who can decide which country they align with/belong to, and they have overwhelmingly chosen the UK in referendums.
The Falkland Islands have never belonged to Argentina, though at one point they did belong to Spain. The people who live there are mostly people of British descent. The Argentinians have literally no claim on them except they want them for the oil in the region.
As James May mentioned in the first part, up until that point the Argentine locals had been very friendly to all the Top Gear team. The mobs were essentially veterans or hardcore nationalists, which you can find in any country.
Ah yes the Argentines know for fair play and decency.....🤣
@@billdoor3140 Weird comment to generalise a whole population based on a few. If that's the case, then historically Brits aren't exactly known for fair play and decency either.
Apparently they call them
“Losers “ they can win all the football games they like with their hand of god cheating style. But when it comes to war I’m happy to go again let’s see what happens.
IIRC the General Belgrano (formerly the USS Phoenix) was based at Tierra Del Fuego, she was sank by a British submarine in international waters outside the exclusion zone, the sinking was highly controversial, something like half the Argentine war fatalities were on the Belgrano.
@@luvstellauk ahh well never mind...end of the day they were being underhanded ready to attack but hiding a few Miles into international waters. This ain't football. They tried to be sneaky and found out that won't work with British military
Those poor Falklands veterans... They had to take any small win they could get, especially since they couldn't get one in 1982.
They should be more angry at their own government really, as they were made up of mostly young inexperienced conscripts drafted up by their government to go and put their lives at risk for the sake of a tiny island.
They really want our penguins.
essential ingredient in making guinness 😂😂
@@praywink thank you I came to say the exact same thing
Boil em up, the white stuff floats to the top. Job done.👍
As for their "illegal" crossing into Chile, I don't think they would've have minded as it was the Chilean government that provided the British forces with much needed intelligence and support during the Falkland Island War.
Another reason to like Pinochet, aside from those free helicopter rides he provided for the Communists.
As Mrs Thatcher told Al Haig, (US Envoy), “Didn’t the US go to war when Hawaii was attacked by Japan”! [Rhetorical]. Enough said, as Clarkson would say!
I agree we had to go to war. But 1. Freedom of information act released documents showed milk snatcher Thatcher was actually against any action and panicked the M.O.D had to talk her into it by explaining Britain had multiple territories and if we let a poorly equipped military like Argentina take fawlklands countries like China would send troops to Hong Kong. And B. Pearl Harbour is a awful companion. It wasn't an invasion it was a bombing campaign to destroy the American fleet.
The Porsche Registration Plate had FKL982 in it. Which they decided was Falklands 1982 which was when the war was fought. The Top Gear crew where to go through an area where most of the Argentinian Sailors where from that were killed (333) when the General Belgrano was sank by a British Submarine. Btw the only Nuclear Sub to ever sink a Ship during a war. There is now as many UK military personnel on the Falklands than there is civilians. The Argies got upset a few years ago when the UK had a Type 45 Destroyer in the Falklands and said it was an act of aggression. At the time it was said the Ship could fire enough missiles to wipe out the entire Argie Airforce before they even got off the ground.
The main issue was that the town, Ushwara, was from where the battleship General Belgrano sailed and was sunk by a British submarine. The Argentinians believed the registration plate on Jeremy's car, FLK 982 was a direct reference to the Falklands and the year of the conflict. How wise the BBC were to go there in the first place is open to debate.
Argentine police, about as effective as their military ! Love Top Gear suggest King Boomer lightens the mood and next checks out Top Gear Vietnam special, it's out there KB, I just watched again on You Tube
Complete you have to pay for it? Otherwise ua-cam.com/play/PL3E78-47reKuu56i_BwmS24vf9JruM69w.html
Clarkson's license plate was epic 😂 H982 FKL - no evidence that it was intentional, but this is Clarkson after all 🤣
It is meaningless though. It was one of 2 Porsches for sale at the time, and in the best condition. That is it's original number plate
@@Moleoflands but did they dream up the whole special after seeing the Porsche for sale?
No doubt that was the plan. It’s Clarkson as you said n
@@miff227 I doubt it
H982 Fkl is meaningless unless you really reach
H982 is meant to mean a year? Bs. Surely *I982* would have been the choice there?
And why does FKL mean Falklands?
FalKLands... nah, it would be either FAL or FLK if you really wanted that messege to hit. Or MAL or MLV.
Top gear is not subtle with offensive humour. If they had meant to make a joke about the Falklands war, they would have drawn attention to it and been far less dependent on some geek on the Internet to conspiracy theory this shit
@@Moleoflands well it’s as close as you’ll get with 3 letters isn’t it, of course It was intentional, they had to be subtle with this one and they meant it IMO
From what I remember a few years back a poll was produced for the inhabitants of the Falkland Islands, and the results came back at something like 99.4% of the population are happy to remain English/British and to not have the Falkland Island turned over to Argentina.
In my opinion the Falkland Islands are English and if the inhabitants say they want to remain under British rule then let them and end the petty squabbling from the Argentine people.
As a veteran of that war, I would just like to point out that while the Argentine navy and army under-performed, their air force did very well and showed a lot of guts. I remember seeing a couple of them flying in only 30ft above the sea into San Carlos Bay on bombing runs taking AA fire from all directions. They scored some big hits, too. It takes watermelon-sized nads to do that, whatever country you're from.
ua-cam.com/video/wsDodFQPeJ0/v-deo.html
Como argentino te digo que el verdadero ejército argentino estaba en la frontera con Chile esperando que se habrá un segundo frente, lastimosamente casi el 70% o más de los soldados eran niños no entrenados, tarde o temprano habrá otra guerra si Dios quiere
Lastimosamente se tubo que dejar a las islas para seguir siendo el 8vo país más grande del mundo, pero te aseguro que jamás renunciaremos a nuestra tierra, así tengamos que perder 1000 guerras más, así tengamos que esperar 1000 reinas muertas, el tiempo lo dirá
@@mauri1011
We colonised the islands before your country even existed. Why don't you leave your lands as they aren't yours either, they belong to natives, oh wait you probably killed most of them, well the Spanish did anyway.
@mauri10 or just be content with what you have and stop needless wars
If you study history. Argentina has NEVER OWNED THE Falklands. The British and Spanish argued over the Falklands before Argentina even existed!!
The locals had taken offense to the license plate of the Porsche, which read "H982 FKL". The protesters believed that the number plate was a direct reference to the 1982 Falklands War, fought between Argentina and the United Kingdom, and that it was a fake, deliberately designed for this specific trip to their country.
As for the Falklands war itself, allegedly potential oil and mineral rights played a big part.
Except that license plate number was registered to the Porsche since it was first registered.
As did distracting the people from poor internal conditions under a dictatorship. Just like Putin is doing now... (He'd like the oil and coal too - and everything else.)
there were two other cars with plates showing the number of killed in action, on the British as well as the Argentine side... very disrespectful to both sides.
@@el_Contra
The opposite, really. If it was some intentional ploy, surely showing both sides' war dead is actually more respectful, to highlight the unnecessary deaths from the conflict?
@@Perseus7567 their idea was to stage a two car soccer/football game with a giant ball, the cars having plates with the number of dead as if a soccer/football score, nothing more disrespectful than to trivialize the number of casualties of the conflict as if a score in a game.
The issue with the Falklands for the Argentinians is less that they want them and more than we sunk their flagship which they say was illegal but even the captain of the ship and the generals of the time said it was a fair target. It was a huge death count on that sinking and most of the crew were from around that area so it's a bit of a sore spot for them.
An old boy from my school was the 1st Mate on the Sub that sank the Belgrano. We cheered at the news of the sinking. That's a long time ago and knew no better.
@@fishtigua Jesus Christ thats so fucked up
@@galaxspace1 no it's not. At best it's nuanced conflict of emotions. Cheering a major victory in a war you didn't start is not fucked up.
@@galaxspace1 It’s just the way it is in war,you celebrate the destruction of the enemy…. Happened in just the same way when the Ukrainians sank the Moskva,everyone that supported the Ukrainians were understandably very happy that the flagship had gone to the bottom.
Was their invasion and treatment of those living on the Falklands legal? The Argies played with fire and got burnt
The two negotiating positions during the 1960's where as follows.
UK Government:
"We can't talk about handing over sovereignty till we have sought the views of the Islanders."
Argentine Government:
"We first gain sovereignty - then decide what is best for the Islanders."
After the negotiations stalled, the Argentines took the Islands by gun point in 1982 and put the Islanders under military occupation.
The UN hasn't exactly helped matters either. At one point, the UN members voted on a resolution demanding that Britain give up the islands under the UN Charter's clause on respecting territorial integrity - completely subverting that clause and ignoring the fact that it's never been part of Argentina.
also when this part of the special hits at the very end, you just feel bereft of emotions, cause the first 2/3rds of the special, you are laughing your ass off and it was actually one of their better specials. This episode just turns that tone upside down
I was thinking that, when watching the King react to just this little bit. The bigger part of the episode was super chill and fun, no issue whatsoever. I never looked at the Porsche's plate once, they never gave it any importance either, there was nothing at all to justify this, heck, even understand it.
Oh well.
I lived and worked all around South America and as an Englishman was pretty much welcomed everywhere. The only sh*t I got was for saying "Thanks mate" to a young guy filling my boat fuel tank and he said back "I'm not your f*cking mate, pal". This was after he listened to my classic Cuban music album for an hour. Go figure!
But he called you "pal"?
@@c_n_b Yep, in Spanish local dialect Pal and Mate are a bit different. Familiarity levels I guess.
Was it that kid from the Inbetweeners? 😳
@@davidtilstone4814 Northwood in town now.
You should have said I ain't ya fucking pal mate!
In the next season of top gear after this one they included a bunch of subtle and not so subtle references to Chile as a way of saying thanks
Relating to comments regarding the Belgrano, interestingly it survived the Pearl Harbour attack as USS Phoenix in 1941.
Maradona knocked us out of the World Cup with a handball, as well as Argentina trying to nick the Falklands
That was the last Episode of Season 22 before Top Gear got new Presenters, and Jeremy, James And Richard were given an Estimated 160 million by Amazon to do The Grand Tour which is now in it's 5th season.
Even though this special didn't go according to plan the Argie's would of still hated the ending as the crew were welcomed into Chile. These 2 haven't got on for years and with Chile supporting the UK in the Falklands war and helped immensely I still thought it was a good ending lol
"would of" ?? Think you may mean "would have", or the oft used contraction "would've".
You're welcome 😁
@@amandab4978 bit pedantic love... its UA-cam ffs. And in 2022 I think ones understanding of the English language and the way they type can be viewed as separate.
The BBC was cleared of all wrong doing, the plate H982 FKL has been associated with the Porsche 928 that was used during the shoot since the day the car was manufactured.
So it's a bit of a stretch to actually be able to track down a vehicle with a plate you knew would cause offence, not to mention bloody reckless.
Thankfully they were in Argentina, and the Argies showed as much bottle and fighting spirit as they did in the Falklands war.
And yes they had to abandon all 3 vehicles. The last known location was an impound in Tierra del fuego. The BBC tried to get them back in 2017 but were told the cars were shredded and compacted into nut size pieces, so hey something good came our of it, the Argies finally have some nuts.
I met an Argentine girl on tinternet and we were planning to meet etc. She said it could be difficult because of the history between our two countries etc. I agreed and we talked for a long time. Eventually I discovered she was talking about the war.....I was talking about the football!!!
Argentina, who have never settled, lived on or administrated an archipelago of islands better known in the UK as the Falkland Islands, base their extremely tenuous claim to them on the grounds of their proximity to the Argentinian mainland - about 400 miles. So on that basis, the UK which is an archipelago of islands approximately 21 miles off the French coast, apparently must belong to France???
Well that's a little different because Celtic Britons live on the Uk islands thousands of years before there was a France. I take your point but they aren't equal circumstances.
You have it backwards, the island of Eurasiafrica belongs to Great Britain 🙃
France discovers the islands. Spain obtains the islands from the French. The current Argentina becomes independent from Spain and succeeds it in its territorial possessions. Argentina sends a governor to the islands. Uk invades the islands, expels the governor and the population to the mainland (Argentina). 150 years later Argentina tries to recover the islands. Argentina loses the war. A group of TV presenters visit Argentina and make fun of the hosts for a war that Argentines still mourn. Some real jerks.
I think if you search for Top Gear 'Patagonian Special' you might get to see the full episode. It was one of their 'Specials'.
I think the sinking of the Belgrano, their ship, sold to them by America, was the main reason they're still pissed. The loss, of I believe, 383 crew members, sunk by an English nuclear submarine has a lot to do with their hatred.
I think the submarine is still the only nuclear sub to have sunk an enemy ship in battle
1 of only 2 ships sunk by sub launched torpedo since ww2, both by the British :)
It was war who cares
So the premise of the episode was a top gear christmas special. In where they were talking about v8 engines dying out cause nobody was using them anymore. So they gathered 3 old V8 cars Jeremy in the Porsche. Richard in the Ford Mustang. And James in the lotus. The challenge was to drive these three cars 1,600 miles from the top of chille down to the bottom on Argentina to try build a bridge. Of like peace and trust between the Argentina and Britain.
The sad thing is they didn’t even give them a chance 😔
The premise of this special was a big road trip town Argentina and Chile, eventually leading to them playing car football against some Argentinians. The rest of the special is a fun episode and nothing truly goes wrong until this point.
Props for the shout out to the Embrace the Suck guys, this video was actually a recommend underneath their latest upload
Wow. 40 years on. Even the Germans weren't this pissed so long after being defeated.
The ones who escaped to Argentina are.
Oh wait....
Yeah but z Germans have a mice successful country. Argentina have a Drug addict as a national hero
haha
What's your favourite fictional country?
A: Middle Earth
B: Westeros
C: Narnia
D: Las Islas Malvinas
?
You'll never take the Falklands!
Las Islas Malvinas do exist though. They are off the coast of Chilie.
Not just the Falklands ,there has been bad feeling since the 1966 World cup and several disgraceful World Cup matches including the disgraceful 86 "goal " by an overrated cheat . Relations thaw occasionally but not often . The conclusion of this was pretty predictable , although the number plates were a bit suspicious . Relations are so bad at times it was a really daft idea if it was done by the production .
It wasn’t, you can check the registration history. The “protesters” invented a problem. I guarantee you they would have found a number to offend them because they were desperate to find a reason to be offended.
Pretty sad.
It wasn't the production. The number plate was supposedly a coincidence, the car had been registered in 1991 and it wasn't bought specially just to go to Argentina. The BBC refused to apologise after an Argentinian ambassador demanded an apology and said they would air the footage instead, to show a true representation of what actually happened.
The protestors didn't believe it was a coincidence because Jeremy Clarkson and they weren't satisfied with temporarily changing the plates.
Clarkson, May and Hammond stayed with the women on the crew and left via the airport.
There was a vote in the Falklands with 99% of the islanders voting to stay with the united kindom rather than Argentina
Yep, came here to say this.
This is one time I can safely say, they didn't stage it.
Same was the very first special, in Alabama.
I'm not passing judgment on reality here, but, what you see in the clip (also in Alabama), is very easily staged.
Think about it. Where actually were all the angry folks?....🙌
@@thomasnieswandt8805 er.. you might want to check out the IMDb pages of the “offended locals” in Alabama before you confidently declare it wasn’t staged!
@@PippetWhippetYeah, the "radio show" part of that never made sense to me. All three of the presenters' cars had cameras in them. How could they not have any footage?
Hey great shirt King Boomer. I met Marc Silk The Voice of Johnny Bravo at Comic Con in The UK. He singed a Johnny Bravo picture for me. He was ace .
The ara belgrano, was originally an American ship which survived pearl harbour, it's original mame was uss phoenix
Bro, love the channel keep it up. 💯% the best top gear special is the Artic/Polar Special
The Vietnam, Africa and Burma Specials are also great.
Basically, all the Argi '1982 Falkland War Veterens' Were somehow still in their 20's and they had a bit of a cry about a joke.
There is an English channel called Dave, where we can watch old series on ukplay. I loved the scenery, but there was some controversy over a registration plate on the Porsche
To me there is only one angle and that was that Argentina at the time was a military dictatorship and it was passed down from generation to generation that the Falkland Islands belong to Argentina just as Putin feels Ukrain is part of Russia back when. A dictatorship invaded an Island which contained British people and if Britain had done nothing and human nature being what it is would have ment other dictators would think invasion is the way forward. Regardless leaders must think of today forward not look back at history with envy and desire because we just end up with more wars. At the time of the Falklands war Galtieri was having serious civil unrest and accused of killing thousands of his own people for political reasons and a war is always a good distraction.
Those tiny islands have tonnes of oil around then
The Falklands Conflict/War was awful. For both countries. And yes, there is bad feeling. Because people died. 😢
BBC clearly have more money than sense & the funniest thing is the Argentinians who invaded our land are the ones that are angry. 1982 🇬🇧🏆
shame they didnt put up that much of a fight in the falklands.....perhaps the top gear crew should've taken a few royal marines or paras with them
Greetings King Boomer,
I know the Argentinians chanced their arm in invading the Falkland Islands, but it does seem that they believed that Britain wouldn't fight.
The people down there didn't take too kindly to be being bossed around by Argentine troops, and in particular the staff of the islands radio station, who had guns pushed in their backs.
The argentine government still indulge in a spot of sabre rattling from time to time.
If you put it in perspective, prime minister Thatcher I think was asked why Britain was willing to commit combat forces for some small islands a long way from Britain, her reply was something along the lines of, oh, you mean a bit like the Hawaiian Islands.
In recent freedom of information act released documents show mik snatcherThatcher actually panicked and didn't want to fight. She'd cut military spending along with everything else the M.O.D had to explain to her that Britain had multiple territories and if we let a poorly equipped military like Argentina take fawlklands countries like China would send troops to Hong Kong as ths world would know Britain wouldn't fight.
I believe the reg plate of the Porsche was proven to be a coincidence as it had never been changed in its history.
Look at anything long enough and you will find a link with something else. Bit like seeing familiar shapes in clouds.
You can't go wrong with embrace the suck 21. Daniel and Spencer and legends, I funnily found your channel through watching them
You should definitely do a reaction to Porridge its a British classic and one of my favorite shows there are also a couple of movies but I am sure you would love it
It's one of mine too. Fletcher is easily one of Barker's best roles, along with Arkwright.
They were just bitter, they are shit at war, argentina to falklands is 945 miles, Great Britain to falklands 8064 miles, they still couldn't win with a huge geographical advantage.
We should have taken another task force to escort the Top Gear crew and just invaded. It would have been over in two weeks and Argentina would be British. Always thought we should have pushed on to the mainland in '82 anyway. Teach the buggers a proper lesson.
It was because Jeremy clarksons licence plate was ‘H1982 FKL ‘ which reads 1982 Falkland’s . Which is taking the piss out of them. Apparently in an interview with James may that plate was not chosen by the production team and was genetically given for that car. The chances of that are like ridiculously unlikely but who knows. Funny either way. The argies are still sore
It was H982 and the chances to have that number plate are the same of any other number plate since it doesn't mean anything.
@@hinoarts * H892
I think that the claim to the Falkland Islands is only a small part of the reason behind this violence against the Top Gear team. You will have seen they make fun of the Germans, The numberplate of one of the cars appeared to be a blatant reminder of the 1982 conflict (H982 FKL) The war veterans and a section of the population still probably feel very bitter about the loss of the war and pointless loss of life, and saw an opportunity to hit out. Official reported casualties were 650 on the Argentine side with most informed commentators estimating more than 1500. 260 UK. 3 Falkland civilians died
It is an amazing place tho’ Penguins, Seals, Elephant seals, Massive bull sea lions, taller than you just on their flippers. All blissfully unafraid of the human population having had little or no threat from them ever. A Cara Cara nicked my lunch, and almost my hat!
Discovered in 1592 by England. Claimed in 1594. Almost 300 years before Argentina was formed.
Actually the gun laws in Argentina seem to be pretty relaxed just with a lot of red tape, not too dissimilar to many US states. I'm almost 100 sure at least 30% of those "protesters" were armed so it's a miracle no one was seriously hurt.
Kinda unrelated but ironically despite the UK having a almost a completely ban on firearms (for all the good it's done 🤦♂️) The Falklands has one of the highest legal gun ownership rates in the world and one of the lowest crime rates.
It has done a lot of good. How many schoolchild have been shot in class since Dunblain?
How many mass shootings?
Are you seriously suggesting things would be better with relaxed rules?
Are you comparing an island with a few hundred, mostly older people to one with 65 million thats a hub for the world and has one of the most populated cities in the world? 🤦♂
@@Gambit771 and how many were shot before then? Mass shootings are a terrible example of gun violence because it's almost an exclusively US issue, there are 175+ countries with legal gun rights and only 1 with a reoccurring mass shooting problem. The only thing banning guns has done in the UK is meant criminals have moved to more brutal methods of inflicting pain. Knives, hammers, acid etc. Crime rate has barley changed since before the handgun ban and the laws have just got harder and harder for citizens to legally defend themselves, yeah that definitely sounds like progress. And no I never made any comparison, you did, I just pointed out facts. Please read and educate yourself before trying to act smart again, you've only got so many brain cells to kill
@@Gambit771 some people are just dumb mate probably why there's mass shooting ever other month in America but banning gun doesn't work ...America in a nut shell
They thought the registration on the Porsche was a deliberate reference to the war. Andy Willman the executive producer of Top Gear at the time says it was the only thing they where ever accused of doing that they where incent of. He says it was a coincidence.
I can think of one reason why they'd want them (putting asside historical claims, who actually lives there, national pride, who won the war etc)... they did find oil off the islands not too many years ago... so there's that.
According to some friends in Argentina at the time, they said that some local politician was trying to get reelected or something, and they used Top Gear's arrival as a way to rally people and gain popularity over the radio, and this is what caused this.
The car registration remains a mystery. It sure looks deliberately provocative. The odds of it being a coincidence are very low, despite what the TV crew claimed.
No, they didn't do it on purpose.
The number plate on the Porsche, the 'H982 FLK', was given to that specific Porsche the day the car was first registered in line with the number plate standards and legislation at the time.
Multiple examinations at the time showed that the number plate in question had always been assigned to that Porsche.
Additionally, in the year the production team bought the car, there was only two of those Porsches for sale in the entirety of the UK. Clarkson chose the one he did because the colour reminded him of the car he said goodbye to his father with.
None of the other car number plates matched the number of dead in the war either, despite some people claiming the opposite. Richard Hammond's car had the numbers '646', whereas the Argentinian dead was '649'. James May's car had the numbers '269' despite there being 255 British dead. And again, tracking the history of both cars it is possible to see both cars had their number plates for a very long time before Top Gear purchased them.
All around one giant coincidence blown out of proportion by some violent ultra-nationalists.
@@Perseus7567 The theory is that they chose that car bc of the number plate. You haven't disproved that.
You should watch the whole episode of this as they have a very close shave on a mountain of the most dangerous road, it is very stressful. I've never seen Clarkson genuinely shit himself
Clarksons number plate on the porsche read "H982 FLK" and it is said that this was in reference to the falklands war.......Or that was what the argentines thought. How true it is that this was the plate the car originally had was and still is very much under debate. Although the show said that it was not changed and was the original plate the car had from new it has always thought this was done on purpose.
There is no debate over it. You can research the cars history. It had that numberplate for 20+ years and was one of only two 928 for sale in the UK that year. And Clarkson wanted that car in this colour. Because (as he said in the special) this was the car, that allowed him to say goodbye to his dad, and when the producers said, that they wanted a Porsche for this trip, Clarkson looked for a similar car.
@@thomasnieswandt8805 there is and there always will be and it does not matter what anyone says. people will always have their own opinion and lets be honest it was not the best plate to take there lol
@@paganpriestess979 As James May said in an interview, you have to want to see it as a reference. It’s simply not one. It’s only now people have made a big deal out of it that everyone noticed the coincidence of 982 and FLK. It was only ultra nationalists that actually made the point… normal people didn’t.
@@paganpriestess979 people “debate” whether the earth is flat- that doesn’t mean we take their points seriously. Flat earthers and Clarksons number plate conspiritard’s both have one thing in common. To sustain their belief, they both have to believe in a cabal of lizard people who rule the world from the shadows. This is because they have to account for vast numbers of people with no reason to lie, lying, and the ability to fabricate evidence beyond the ability for humans to fabricate. And they of course believe the lizard people are Jews, because at their root, conspiritards are antisemetic.
@@JBLFC92 this is the stupidest crap I've ever heard. 982 flk isn't a coincidence ffs 🤣 when they went to Germany they had 1966 plates 🙄 you REALLY THINK they just happened to take a car with the same year the fawlklands war happened with a plate showed that year and flk? 🤣🤣🤣
Clarkson's number plate had 'FKL 982'....or Falklands 1982 😂😂 apparently it wasn't deliberate but any fan of the show knows that more than likely jezza done it on the sly.
He didn't buy the car
Nah the likely hood of that actually being deliberate is actually very small. It’s a very Clarkson thing to do of course but he doesn’t choose the number plate and it’s a very rare car
It's literally the license plate the car was registered with when it rolled off the production line. The information is extremely easy to find out.
@@ajorngjdonaydbr come on, he knew what he was doing and I for one love it
@@ajorngjdonaydbr And we know from the time he had nothing to do with buying it, that was the office staff
“Argentines” or “Argentinians” - either is fine.
The Inbetweeners episode The Duke of Edinburgh Award is the episode you have to watch if Jay is your Favorite. It interrupted the episode of Jeremy Clarkson and Top Gear Argentina. The Inbetweeners scene in the old ladies bedroom is unbelievable and must NOT be missed.
Omg not that scene lol
As an Argentine i can tell that he real fury came when someone realized one of the top gear cars' plate had a direct reference to the war (H982 FKL) then they find associations on the other plates about the deads on the war, and everything when mad. We don't now if the crew of top gear did it on purpose but it shouldn't.
No, they didn't do it on purpose.
The number plate on the Porsche, the 'H982 FLK', was given to that specific Porsche the day the car was first registered in line with the number plate standards and legislation at the time.
Car history is regularly available in the UK, and multiple examinations at the time showed that the number plate in question had always been assigned to that Porsche.
Additionally, in the year the production team bought the car, there was only two of those Porsches for sale in the entirety of the UK. Clarkson chose the one he did because he colour reminded him of the car he said goodbye to his father with.
None of the other car number plates matched the number of dead in the war either. Richard Hammond's car had the numbers '646', whereas the Argentinian dead was '649'. James May's car had the numbers '269' despite there being 255 British dead. And again, tracking the history of both cars it is possible to see both cars had their number plates for a very long time before Top Gear purchased them.
All around one giant coincidence blown out of proportion by some violent ultra-nationalists.
I'm pretty sure there was footage on youtube of the Argentinans setting the star cars on fire once they had found them
I’ve got a sneaky feeling Jeremy knew exactly what he was doing with the number plates but when you see a car with “Las Malvinas son Argentinos” it’s really not a good sign 😂
Very unlikely since he's said all along he actually had a joke plate with him the whole time but didn't have chance to use it, honestly these specific Argentinians that got offended over literally nothing are nothing more than snowflake scum. It'd be like us Brits getting offended if a American drives a car with a plate ending in 76
Yeah they defo saw the car with that number plate and engineered the episode around it, funny af tho
There were only 2 porsches of that type in the UK for sale at the time of filming, and the kne Jeremy bought was the one in the better condition
They didnt. James said it in an interview. He said (meaning not word for word) "What nonsense is that? there were two 928 cars for sale in the UK that year. This one had its numberplate for 20+ years. of corse we can say ""oh it shows the falkland war"" btw it doesnt. But you can interprete all lot of things in existing stuff"
@@Moleoflands Absolutely - there were 2 manual gearbox versions for sale in the UK of this 928 GTS I think it was - and they had to leave it there ..
People moan at us British for colonising. Yet people before us did it, for example the vikings. Don't just complain about us. It's part of our history. Our dark times show how far we've come. Things were different back then.
Yep, but we are supposed to be now apologising for what happened over 200 years ago.
Argentina used to have a fascist government so it is no suprise that the veterans who were the enforcers of said fascist government would act like that.
Apparently the number plate that was mentioned had reference to the argentinian casualties on the sinking of the battle ship belgrano torpedoed by a British submarine.
That turned out to be false though. Any supposed reference was just a coincidence. The Porsche had always had that number plate, it was the original plate that came with the car, and it was one of only two Porsches for sale in the UK when the show bought it.
Just a reminder about a war story that you may like, featuring the narration by Jeremy Clarkson. The Greatest Raid of All Time: ua-cam.com/video/07Zd0Oy8JyQ/v-deo.html It's about 1 hour, so you may want to split it, but it's an epic story.
The Scots Guards fought their best men, the 5th marine infantry battalion on Mount Tumbledown & swept them off the peaks. Never given the real credit for it by the Thatcher government & that is just an incontrovertible fact. For me the Falklands war will always bring to mind the memory of Marine Gordon Cameron MacPherson from 45 Commando Arbroath Scotland, killed in action in the successful taking of Two Sisters mountains on the 12th June 1982. A brave Sottish laddie & he is loved.
Why was one of the crew cars a 2 CV ?
The Falklands are still British 😂
And you support Bolton, God help you
@@ajorngjdonaydbr Bolton and proud. Just like Falklands are British and proud.
@@BWFCLVAREY ah yes, rhetoric, the tool of the mong. Well done 👍
@@ajorngjdonaydbr Rhetoric? Truth more like, cry more.
H982FKL pretty sure Clarkson knew what that reg plate would do? The Argies are still a little bitter over a British Island.😂😅
No, they didn't do it on purpose.
The number plate on the Porsche, the 'H982 FLK', was given to that specific Porsche the day the car was first registered in line with the number plate standards and legislation at the time.
Car history is regularly available in the UK, and multiple examinations at the time showed that the number plate in question had always been assigned to that Porsche.
Additionally, in the year the production team bought the car, there was only two of those Porsches for sale in the entirety of the UK. Clarkson chose the one he did because he colour reminded him of the car he said goodbye to his father with.
None of the other car number plates matched the number of dead in the war either. Richard Hammond's car had the numbers '646', whereas the Argentinian dead was '649'. James May's car had the numbers '269' despite there being 255 British dead. And again, tracking the history of both cars it is possible to see both cars had their number plates for a very long time before Top Gear purchased them.
All around one giant coincidence blown out of proportion by some violent ultra-nationalists.
You should react to a video explaining the Falklands war for context 🇬🇧
The license plate was the the thing that sparked it off, FKL 1982 was seen as Falkland 1982 ,which was when the war was.I don’t know if it was a genuine mistake or Clarkson being a muppet.I like Clarkson but he can be controversial 👍🏻
Had nothing do with them they did not pick cars
0:39 - UA-cam shaves off subscribers because it closes the spambot accounts as their comments are reported as spam.
Jeremy knew full well what he was doing with the number plate gag. I think he just underestimated quite how angry the Argentinians would get about it.
There is no debate over it. You can research the cars history. It had that numberplate for 20+ years and was one of only two 928 for sale in the UK that year. And Clarkson wanted that car in this colour. Because (as he said in the special) this was the car, that allowed him to say goodbye to his dad, and when the producers said, that they wanted a Porsche for this trip, Clarkson looked for a similar car.
In the same way you say that numberplate has any meaning, you could also say "the american emergency-number was a hint to 9/11"
@@thomasnieswandt8805 Interesting. I didn't know that history. So it's purely a coincidence? I imagine that Clarkson at least knew that it could be offensive and was probably happy about that (just knowing how he is about these kinds of things).
@@thomasnieswandt8805 Of course there's a debate over it. It wouldn't be difficult for the producers to search out second hand cars with a numberplate that referenced the war, and build the car type premise around it. Top Gear have used running gag numberplates before, and it would be a massive stretch to suggest it's just "coincidence" when it was so obvious in its reference to the war. Also it was a diplomatic incident, so it's not a stretch to suggest that both Jeremy Clarkson and the rest of the Top Gear team would bullshit their way out of it to avoid any further conflict. Not suggesting that Jeremy's story about his dad is bullshit though.
@@SirHilaryManfat
It wouldn't be too difficult to find a car with the number plate? Do you know how unlikely it is to find one?
First, the car would have needed to have first been registered in Maidstone in order to have "KL" in it. It's about a 1 in 500 chance for the car to be from officially from Maidstone. And that's just based on the possible registration locations, and doesn't even include where companies actually set up their factories at the time.
Secondly, the car would have needed the plate to have "982" in it. That already reduces it down to just 21 potential candidates, as there is only one "982" per letter of the alphabet, of which only 21 letters of the alphabet were in use between 1974 and 2001.
Only 21 cars, of which there is a 1-in-500 chance it's from Maidstone. Already not looking good.
Then, there's the untold odds. Such as:
1. It needing to be car they can make a theme around, and not some generic boring every day car.
2. It had to be available to purchase around the time they needed to purchase it.
3. That the car had never had a number plate change in it's lifetime.
4. That the car was still running and useable.
"it wouldn't be too difficult" my ass.
Okay then, you seem pretty confident that it's easy. Go ahead, find me a car with a number plate that references the First World War.
I'll even help you:
You're looking for a car registered in either 2014 or 2018, as those are the years you'll need.
You're looking for a car that has 'GER', 'BEL', 'FRA', 'UK' or 'GB', 'SER', 'RUS', or 'AUS' as part or entirely the last three letters. If you really want to increase the odds, we can allow 'USA, 'GAS' or 'WWI'.
It has to currently be for sale, the plate has to be original, and the car has to be running and in working condition.
Not up for the task? Too time-consuming? Too unlikely to happen? Exactly.
On a personal note l am sure that Porsche that caused all the controversy was parked in my street in Kingston Upon Thames as there is no forgetting that number plate.
Can't have been after the special as all 3 cars were held for over a year by the Argie police and they were later destroyed.
@@MikeWilsonBarrett No long time before. I think late 90's that car was in Buckingham Road, Kingston Upon Thames. I saw it new with working windscreenwipers quite sure. Unless there was many of these Porsche models with FLK number plates knocking around. I could be wrong it just makes that experience they suffered more real to me.
The locals had taken offense to the license plate of the Porsche, which read "H982 FKL". The protesters believed that the number plate was a direct reference to the 1982 Falklands War. In my mind the could easily be intentional. So...oh ,well.
No, they didn't do it on purpose.
The number plate on the Porsche, the 'H982 FLK', was given to that specific Porsche the day the car was first registered in line with the number plate standards and legislation at the time.
Car history is regularly available in the UK, and multiple examinations at the time showed that the number plate in question had always been assigned to that Porsche.
Additionally, in the year the production team bought the car, there was only two of those Porsches for sale in the entirety of the UK. Clarkson chose the one he did because he colour reminded him of the car he said goodbye to his father with.
None of the other car number plates matched the number of dead in the war either. Richard Hammond's car had the numbers '646', whereas the Argentinian dead was '649'. James May's car had the numbers '269' despite there being 255 British dead. And again, tracking the history of both cars it is possible to see both cars had their number plates for a very long time before Top Gear purchased them.
All around one giant coincidence blown out of proportion by some violent ultra-nationalists.
Britain and Argentina had been torn over the islands before. I forget the date, but it was like a solid 200 years or so before any fighting actually broke out. In those 200 years, not a word was said. Not until am Argentine dictator ran into some popularity problems and decided taking the islands back would make him popular again. The islands have no strategic value and at the time, only had some sheep farms making them not all that financially valuable. But they did have one thing worth fighting for. The people who had lived under British rule for over 200 years are prouder to be British than most Brits. They want British rule and to abandon them to Argentine rule would be like abandoning one of Britain's own counties. Argentina's justification was to distract from their dictators incompetence. Britain's justification was to protect the freedom and the sovereignty of the people of the islands. I would argue that Britain had the best justification. I find it crazy that Argentines still find it such a sore spot. Especially since not many Argentines cared about the islands before the war. They only cared after they lost. There is an awesome UA-cam channel if you don't know it called oversimplified. They tell historical stories in a way even the dumbest children can follow and back then up with some comedy and some great animations. Well worth a look and they have a video on the Falklands War
Hammond, may and clarkson left top gear over 5 years ago now the have the grand tour on amazon
Has everyone missed the Football Reference - As in Diego Maradonna ?
Early awaiting the next inbetweeners reaction!
The British built most of Argentina's infrastructure after the Spanish had left. Unfortunately, that gratitude was lost when they thought they could appropriate British territory without consequences.
You should check out, Top Gear, campervan challenge. 😂
JOHNNY BRAVO TSHIRT!! 💥♥️
They could always fight us for them…….oh they already did.
Chile. Our South American best friends.
I'm sure I read somewhere that Argentina funded the invasion with a telethon!? 🤣
The Porsche had FKL on the plate... but tbf, I saw a car with the same 3 letters not long ago so... probs wasn't on purpose 🤷♂️
If Jeremy, may and Hammond had been armed there would of been war again between the two countries 😂😂😂😂😂
Just a bit of argie bargie.
Get over it you muppets.
The falklands belong to us 💪
I thought I was subbed for a while.. turns out UA-cam just kept suggesting your videos because I kept clicking on them