Around the world car

[DanJR1]

if you was to drive around the world in the fastest time possible, what car would you use? (I had the idea of a modified Mitsubishi L200 2.5 diesel )

[johnny yuma]

you'll have to be a bit specific about the route or it can't be decided whether 4WD and ground clearances are factors or not.Nominate some CHECKPOINTS PER CONTINENT OR SOMETHING.

[rcarr]

Land Rover Discovery 3. Beautiful, stylish and you can get about comfortably in it. Petrol, of course!

If I was going for out and out ability I would use a TDi Land Rover 90, the best 4x4xfar!

[DanJR1]

the kind of course that ewan mcgregor and charlie boardman took around the world. i just thought that there would be a record for the quickest time a car has gone around the world

[MotorPsycho1934]

the Icelandic modified Hilux that Clarkson and May took to the Pole

[DanJR1]

my idea was one of these trucks (like the hilux, L200, narvara) with the twin cab, enlarged fuel tank, slight aero mods, hydrualic suspension (so that on roads it can be lowered to reduce drag), stripped out to reduce weight and the ultimate in sat nav tech.

[dtype38]

Hi guys. Interesting subject, but not really "Racing Technology" so I'm moving it to the newly created "Road Cars" where it should fit nicely.

[Gore]

I always thought this guy's idea was a pretty good one (even if it did involve the archetypal footballers' wives' car): http://www.4x4abc.com/JimRogers/inde...>jimrogers</a>

[garcon]

Needn't really look beyond the support vehicles for Long Way Down ...


http://www.carmagazine.co.uk/first_d...id=1284&page=1


Although if money's no object I'd go for the real mccoy and have a Toyota Landcruiser.

As for the Discovery... they're reasonably capable but Aussie outback ranchers have a saying - if you want to go out into the bush, sure, take a Land Rover. If you want to come back, best take the Landcruiser.

[Bluebottle]

Originally Posted by dtype38

so I'm moving it to the newly created "Road Cars" where it should fit nicely.

Newly created???
So what have I been moderating for the last few years?

[dtype38]

Oops! Sorry, I thought I'd read that somewhere recently, or more likely misread, or even just imagined it all together. That sort of things happen when you reach a certain age!

[Bluebottle]

No worries! Maybe we should change the description, at the mo it reads "After many requests, we have finally added a forum for you to chat about all things related to road cars"

[dtype38]

Perhaps that's where I got it from? Anyway, back to the thread folks.....

[johnny yuma]

Best--ie unstoppable--off roader I ever used was a farmer's Suzuki 360 in far western NSW in 1976.The boss had his 1970 Land Rover long wheelbase for Survey work but it could not get in and out of the dry creekbeds,but the suzuki walked it.The short wheelbase Land Cruisers were better than most but still heavy to winch and prone to punctures.

The Suzuki was quite like a WW2 Jeep but smaller.No mod cons but more comfort and room than a motorbike,frugal on fuel,extremely light.In a trek you just want to GET THERE !You could probably tow it with a horse or an ox if stranded in Baluchistan OR a with a water buffalo in Burma.

[johnh875]

On that basis I would nominate the vehicle likely to get anywhere come hell or high water - Haflinger

Fastest way to get anywhere if you are driving on roads of any kind - WRC car suitably set up. If there were sections when genuine off-road ability was required then a Paris-Dakar Mitsubishi Pajero would be the way to go.

[johnny yuma]

I guess essential questions are : Is there an all weather road across Russia ? If not is there an all weather road across China ? Do they lead to a Port where enormous difficulties won't be had getting passage to continental America ?

Yes I had an Austrian mate in the Surveying field who never shut up about HAFLINGERS !!!

[DanJR1]

i remember reading there is a number of miles you have to drive before you can honestly say you have driven around the world? I just personally thought it would be the perfect driving adventure!

[johnny yuma]

It sure would be an adventure!!! If I was setting the rules there would only be one.Start anywhere,keep travelling either east or west and end up back where you started.The difficulty of taking ANY shortcut or easy way etc would be a great challenge unless you could get a vehicle to the North Pole and drive it in a little circle.But then you would have to get it back to where you Really started from.It bears some thought and development. Hmmm route,season,vehicle...

[johnh875]

There are roads - ref. the 2005 Peking-Paris re-enactment & the rally this year. http://www.abc.net.au/tv/pekingtoparis/. Whether they are all-weather roads, well I dare say there would be plenty of places crossing Siberia or Mongolia that would become impassable if you chose the wrong time of year. In the book documenting the re-enactment they also mention seeing ex-Japanese cars being transported west from ships in Vladivostok (or somewhere like that). There was also a New York to Paris race in 1908, the long way around.

On another note, would you have to venture into both hemispheres to properly circumnavigate the world? Do the number of continents visited matter?

[johnh875]

There are roads - ref. the 2005 Peking-Paris re-enactment & the rally this year. http://www.abc.net.au/tv/pekingtoparis/. Whether they are all-weather roads, well I dare say there would be plenty of places crossing Siberia or Mongolia that would become impassable if you chose the wrong time of year. In the book documenting the re-enactment they also mention seeing ex-Japanese cars being transported west from ships in Vladivostok (or somewhere like that). There was also a New York to Paris race in 1908, the long way around.

On another note, would you have to venture into both hemispheres to properly circumnavigate the world? Do the number of continents visited matter?

[skycafe]

Originally Posted by johnny yuma

Best--ie unstoppable--off roader I ever used was a farmer's Suzuki 360 in far western NSW in 1976.The boss had his 1970 Land Rover long wheelbase for Survey work but it could not get in and out of the dry creekbeds,but the suzuki walked it.The short wheelbase Land Cruisers were better than most but still heavy to winch and prone to punctures.

The Suzuki was quite like a WW2 Jeep but smaller.No mod cons but more comfort and room than a motorbike,frugal on fuel,extremely light.In a trek you just want to GET THERE !You could probably tow it with a horse or an ox if stranded in Baluchistan OR a with a water buffalo in Burma.

A life time ago, in a Citroen salvage yard here in Central Florida-I still have trouble grasping that - there was a 2CV that was loaded with country stickers and purportedly had been around the world, or at least a noticable amount around.

It made perfect sense (not for the States part of the trip) to have something simple, small, light, familiar to mechanics and potential sources of aid along the way, as the 2CV was. Same situation with a VW Beetle. Lacking Ox or Water Buffalo (which I guess can happen just about anywhere), a few strong native folk could assist you in yanking a Beetle or 2CV up out of murk and mire, and simple tools and such could repair most things, and servicable parts are probably within some reasonable scrounging distance.

Well, that would be the budget adventure way.... The other way would be helicopter support to fly in a replacement ecu and mechanics squad for whatever wonder machine you tried it with, hang the expense.

[DAVID PATERSON]

I think there's a rule that says you must pass through the point diametrically opposed to your place of origin to say that you have truly been around the world.

[johnh875]

Could be tricky if that point was in the middle of an ocean?

[Truckosaurus]

I believe, having been unsuccessful with google, that you just have to have a route that covers a certain distance, so a Europe-Russia-Siberia-Canada-New York route would count, even though you don't return to the same point.

Of course, for an official record, you cannot break the speed limit, so having a fast car would be irrelevant.

I'd have to be dull and go for a diesel Land Cruiser Amazon, with extree-large fuel tank. Stick a couple of spare wheels in the boot, a team of four drivers, and a liquid only diet so make pitstops quicker