Book excerpt: The official record of the centennial re-enactment of a great motoring milestone. Man and machine against the elements, driving where no car has gone before … that was the impossible challenge of 1907, when a handful of buccaneering madcap motorists took up the idea of a Paris newspaper to prove that the car could now go anywhere by driving the huge distance between two capital cities – Peking to Paris. To mark the 100th anniversary of the original 'Great Race', over 100 cars set out to drive the original route used by Prince Borghese in 1907. They ranged from authentic veteran Italas and vintage Bentleys to classic Aston Martins, and pretty much everything in-between. Drivers of 26 different nationalities came together to test their wits and their cars by driving for 40 days from the Great Wall of China, across the Gobi Desert. With around 250 photos, official maps and inside information from the event organiser, this is a fascinating and colourful read for every red-blooded motoring enthusiast.