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December 31, 2006
Automotive adventure between Europe and Asia : GlobalGiants.com
With the Mercedes-Benz E-Class from Paris to Beijing.
Stuttgart – On October 21st, 33 E-Class cars with clean diesel drive started on a fascinating long-distance drive covering around 13,600 kilometres from Paris to Beijing. The symbolic bridging between Europe and Asia over long stretches of the journey followed the route of the first transcontinental car race in history, which started exactly 99 years ago from Peking to Paris. The winner reached his destination in 62 days. With the modern E-Class cars, Mercedes-Benz accomplished this journey, parts of which are unpassable areas, in only 26 days. The sporting challenge for the roughly 330 participants from 35 nations was to achieve the lowest possible fuel consumption for the separate stages and the overall distance.
With this automotive marathon, Mercedes-Benz once again demonstrated the capabilities of its latest diesel engines with respect to emissions, economy and operating range, even under the most extreme conditions.
Five legs from Europe to Asia
After the start in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower on 21 October, the route of the ”E-Class Experience” initially led through France, Germany, Poland and the Baltics to St. Petersburg, where the first change of drivers took place after seven days. In this case, the route followed the path of the legendary first transcontinental automobile race held 99 years ago, which ran in the opposite direction from Beijing to Paris and wrote automotive history.
In many places the convoy was spontaneously surrounded and joyfully greeted by local people who appreciated their striking and unusual design. All participating E-Class cars are decorated with the flags of the participating nations, in order to underline the internationality of the long distance drive.
The longest diesel marathon of all times ended successfully in Beijing. The 36 Mercedes-Benz E-Class cars, which left Paris on 21 October on a transcontinental rally covering about 14,000 kilometres, arrived safe and sound in the Chinese capital after traversing Europe and Asia. Through this endurance test under extreme conditions Mercedes-Benz has once again demonstrated the outstanding performance of its modern diesel engines in terms of emissions, fuel economy and reliability. Proof of this is also the fuel consump-tion of the victorious “Ebay” team which won the fuel economy contest with an average of 7.19 l/100 km diesel. The best result on a daily leg was as low as 5.5 l/100 km.
PHOTO: Beijing: Arrival at the Yongding Gate, the southern access point to the “Holy Axis” of the Forbidden City.
During the five legs of the ”E-Class Experience" more than 360 drivers from 35 countries took turns at the steering wheels of the diesel sedans. In only 25 driving days they passed through nine countries under partly extreme conditions, such as snow and ice, as well as unpaved roads. The average daily driving distance was about 560 kilometres. Together with the 24 escort vehicles, which ranged from the G-Classes of the Mercedes-Benz crew and technical trucks to the mobile Aral diesel service station, the marathon entourage covered a total road distance of about 840,000 kilometers. This corresponds to the 21-fold circumference of the earth at the equator. [GlobalGiants.com]
Edited & Posted by the Editor | 7:10 PM | Link to this Post
