The famous Peking to Paris Classic Car Rally got underway on 28th May and following a 9,000 mile arduous drive the cars are expected to reach Paris on 29th June, so why not be there to give them a warm welcome when they do.
The rally has some interesting origins. The first Peking to Paris rally (it was called back then a motor race) took place in 1907. Forty teams entered the race but only five of them made it to the start having failed to ship themselves and their cars to the start.
Those that made it there included some impressive entrants. They included an Italian team consisting of Prince Luigi Marcantonio Francesco Rodolfo Scipione Borghese and his co-driver Ettore Guizzardi in a an Itala powered by a seven litre engine, a Spyker driven by a Dutch team, along with three French teams driving a three wheeled Contal, an two DeDions. The race was won by the Italians and their prize was a magnum of champagne.
A number of re-enactments of that race have been carried out over the years, and its latest embodiment is the Peking to Paris Classic Car Rally. This year is the fifth time it has been run; the last time was in 2010. There are 100 Participants which include Vintage cars built between 1920 and 1931; Vintageant cars built between 1932 and 1941, and Classic cars built between 1942 and 1975.
As you might anticipate these include some rarely seen automobiles. Of note is a 14.5 litre La France Tourer built in 1917 and there are several 4 ½ litre Bentleys from 1926, 1927 and 1928; the 4 ½ litre Bentley (Blower version) was, according to the Ian Fleming novels the original James Bond car. The smallest entrant is a 1.2 litre MGTC and the field includes sixteen entrants from GB.
The route traverses China through Mongolia including a section across the Gobi desert and the passes into Russia where it heads west into the Ukraine, then Slovakia and finally into Europe. It is a shorter route than the original race, but it still covers 7,610 miles and crosses some challenging terrain including driving over some of the world’s highest mountain roads, crossing Tibbet, visiting the bottom of Mount Everest and crossing Friendship Bridge. This is followed by a drive through Nepal all the way to Katmandu and the Himalayan foothills. The Russian section follows the original route very closely; it also includes several off-road sections for those willing and brave enough to tackle them; altogether this is a real test for drivers and cars alike.
What a sight it will be as these intrepid rally drivers and their amazing motor cars arrive in Paris on 29th June. If you want to be among the crowds who welcome them, why not take a trip to Paris for the day. You can even travel from London to Paris by coach at very little cost, and if you use the night bus you don’t even need a hotel. This is a must see for any motoring enthusiast; the like of it will not occur again until 2016.
This is a guest post by Claire Chat a new Londoner, travel passionate and animal lover. She blogs about Pets and Travelling in Europe. If you want Claire to write you specific content, you can find email her here or contact her on Twitter (Claire_Chat).
