Transcontinental Mercedes-Benz Trek Ends In Bejing

An event called the longest diesel marathon of all time ended successfully in Beijing today. The 36 Mercedes-Benz E-Class cars, which left Paris on Oct. 21 on a transcontinental rally covering about 14,000 kilometers, arrived safe and sound in the Chinese capital after traversing Europe and Asia, the automaker reports.

Through this endurance test under extreme conditions Mercedes-Benz says it has once again demonstrated the outstanding performance of its modern diesel engines interms of emissions, fuel economy and reliability.

Proof of this is also thefuel consumption of the victorious "Ebay" team which won the fuel economycontest with an average of 7.19 liters/100 km diesel. The best result on a daily leg was as low as 5.5 liters/100 km.

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 kilometers. Together with the 24 escort vehicles, which ranged from the G classes of the Mercedes-Benz crew and technical trucks to the mobile diesel service station, the marathon entourage covered a total road distance of about 840,000 kilometers. This corresponds to a 21-fold circumference of the Earth at the equator.

The most unusual vehicles in the fleet were the two E-Class taxi cabs which accompanied the convoy over the total distance. In this case, the competitive comparison showed clear cost differences. The fare in the German taxi came to 16,050 Euros at the end of the fourth leg after just 12,000 kilometers.

The trip in the Parisian taxi would have been clearly more expensive. At that point, the meter already displayed the proud amount of 34,090 Euros. At the arrival in Beijing, the total had come to nearly 40,000 Euros.



If you can't contribute, please click on the Google ad above to support us that way. Thank you!