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Benz Heads from Paris to China to Tests Diesel E-Class



33 Participants in Modern-Day Peking-to-Paris Journey

Long-distance events, regardless if theyre on the track or on the road have significant bearing in the automotive world. Be it the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the Paris-Dakar Rally, or even an endurance-speed test on the banks of a high-speed circuit, they each demonstrate a vehicles ability to cope and deal with high stresses that normal road vehicles would never be subjected to. In promotion of its new ultra-clean diesel engines, Mercedes-Benz decided to embark on one of the most daunting long-distance trips
For a closer look of the route, check out the gallery. (Photo: Mercedes-Benz)
to date, following the route of the Peking-to-Paris race, albeit in reverse.

The original Peking-to-Paris (which, incidentally is the name of a Spyker super-SUV concept) was run in 1907 to demonstrate the advantages of the automobile over the horse. It took 62 days to complete the event. One year short of a century later, Mercedes is tackling the grueling
Its probably going to be tougher than most entrants initially thought: not all surfaces are paved. (Photo: Mercedes-Benz)
trip with a fleet of E-Classes that will cover roughly 8,450 miles over a much shorter 28 days, with an expected arrival at the Chinese destination on November 17th. Thats a sum total of more than 280,000 miles, or enough to lap the equator of the earth eleven and half times, which should be good to show the advantages of diesel - particularly Benzs diesels - over standard motors.

Traveling from Paris to Beijing involves crossing more than one continent, which is no small undertaking. The
But there are plenty of historic sites to see along the way. (Photo: Mercedes-Benz)
journey has been split up into five stages of between 1,180 and 2,175 miles, which will be driven by around 330 drivers (journalists, celebrities, special guests, and Benz customers) coming from 35 countries. Its a pretty grueling job to partake in this event; daily mileage is expected to hit the 460 mile mark, and aside from the massive temperature changes and varying altitudes, the drivers must also contend with daily traffic and urban congestion. Luckily, they are in the E-Class, instead of something from the turn of the 20th century!
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