Volkswagen Touareg Crosses Eurasia in Record Time

Rainer Zietlow, Marius Biela, and Petr Bakarov have driven from the easternmost point in Eurasia (that can be reached by cars) to its westernmost capital in a little over six days, beating the previous record of around 8 days. The drive took them across Russia and six European countries in a 2011 Touareg V6 TDI.

The team was made up of German Rainer Zietlow, who has a number of similar world records, cameraman Biela, and Russian journalist Petr Bakarov.

The race started on July 1 and the team traded driving duties, only stopping for gas along the way. The 2011 Touareg is a pretty special car, having joined Zietlow on five previous world record distance drives like this one. It has a strengthened suspension, big tires, a roll cage, and additional gas tanks for a 3,000 km (1864 mile) range.

The team started in Magadan, Russia, on the Pacific ocean. The first 3,000km, says Zietlow, was the hardest. Known as the Road of Bones, it is a long stretch of gravel road built on the bones of the prisoners who made it during the Stalinist era. Anyone who’s watched or read Ewan McGregor’s Long Way Round will understand just how challenging the road is to cross.

After that, says Zietlow, traffic was the biggest obstacle. The team spent five days driving through Russia, and made it through Europe in just one day, reaching Lisbon late last week.

“It is unbelievable and was a great ride,” wrote Zietlow in a Facebook post after the drive.

The post Volkswagen Touareg Crosses Eurasia in Record Time appeared first on VWVortex.

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