Some time ago, I reported on the Wyler-Geneve Paris-Beijing drive. The 16,000 drive was being undertaken in commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the 1907 Wyler-Geneve Peking-Paris race.

Here is an extract of what I wrote:

The 1907 race came into being as a result of a challenge by the French newspaper, Le Matin.  It set what it assumed to be an insurmountable challenge for that time: whether anyone would be able to drive a car from Peking to Paris. Five teams turned up at the start, but only two managed to complete the challenge. The winner was Prince Scipione Borghese, who made the trip in an Itala.

As part of the events marking the 100th anniversary, the Automobile Club of Italy has taken up the challenge to make the return journey (ie from Paris to Peking) in exactly the same vehicle used by Prince Scipione Borghese.

And what was this information doing on a blog about watches, in the first place? To begin with, watchmakers Wyler-Geneve were one of the partners in the event, and released this special tourbillon (availability, eight pieces) to mark the event.

Anyway, long story short, the Itala has arrived in Beijing. It arrived on Friday, 21 September, having taken 62 days, 1 hour, 41 minutes and 37 seconds on the trip. And it arrived in one piece; no breakdown anywhere, the only diversion being some emergency repairs while in Mongolia.

Congratulations to the team, and to Wyler Geneve for its support.

Via Timezone.