A closer look
In 1907, a French newspaper casually challenged drivers to race from Peking (Beijing) to Paris. Keep in mind, this was before "roads" existed in most of Asia. Five teams accepted the ludicrous challenge, embarking on a 10,000-mile slog through the Gobi Desert and Siberian swamps in crude, open-air automobiles. Competitors had to rely on camels carrying pre-stashed fuel, constantly dismantled their engines to cross rivers, and occasionally used their cars to literally winch themselves out of quicksand. Prince Scipione Borghese won by such a massive margin that he took a casual detour to St. Petersburg just to attend a dinner party.
