Rainer271
Kraftwagen König
Mercedes-Benz G-Class finishes world tour after almost 26 years, 215 countries and 890,000 km
1988 Mercedes-Benz 300GD
Same engine
Gunther Holtorf recently finished an epic adventure that lasted almost 26 years while driving a Mercedes-Benz G-Class.
It all started when he quit his job as manager at Lufthansa and hopped on an adventure trip with his sky blue 1988 Mercedes-Benz 300GD nicknamed "Otto." The first years were spent crossing African countries with his third wife but the two broke up and in 1990 he placed an ad in the German weekly Die Zeit personal column and got a response from Christine. After that, they travelled to South America, hitting the 200,000 km mark in 1998 while in Argentina.
Next on the itinerary was Central America, followed by Canada, Mexico and Alaska before heading to Australia. The 300GD arrived afterwards in countries such as Syria and Kazakhstan where the odometer reached 500,000 km. Up next were Afghanistan, Turkey, Caribbean, Cuba, United Kingdom and all the other European countries.
Unfortunately, Christine passed away in June 2010 after being diagnosed in 2003 with a tumor of the facial nerve but Holtorf promised her to continue the trip, which he did as the next countries on the agenda were China and North Korea, with support from Mercedes-Benz. Trips to Vietnam and Cambodia followed while the final stop was at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, Germany.
Still running on the original engine, the G-Class rarely broke down and whenever it did, Holtorf had around 400 spare parts stored in aluminum boxes on the roof. The biggest problem occurred during a trip to Madagascar while passing another car when the G-Class began to slide on the soft ground ending with the wheels facing the sky, requiring a trip to Europe for a new body. An axle bearing change was also necessary at 5,000 meters high in the Andes mountains.
The vehicle will be displayed in the Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart, following a 890,000 km (553,020 miles) trip. As a final note, Holtorf and Christine got married two weeks before she passed away.
Source: dw.de and thelocal.de
1988 Mercedes-Benz 300GD
Same engine
Gunther Holtorf recently finished an epic adventure that lasted almost 26 years while driving a Mercedes-Benz G-Class.
It all started when he quit his job as manager at Lufthansa and hopped on an adventure trip with his sky blue 1988 Mercedes-Benz 300GD nicknamed "Otto." The first years were spent crossing African countries with his third wife but the two broke up and in 1990 he placed an ad in the German weekly Die Zeit personal column and got a response from Christine. After that, they travelled to South America, hitting the 200,000 km mark in 1998 while in Argentina.
Next on the itinerary was Central America, followed by Canada, Mexico and Alaska before heading to Australia. The 300GD arrived afterwards in countries such as Syria and Kazakhstan where the odometer reached 500,000 km. Up next were Afghanistan, Turkey, Caribbean, Cuba, United Kingdom and all the other European countries.
Unfortunately, Christine passed away in June 2010 after being diagnosed in 2003 with a tumor of the facial nerve but Holtorf promised her to continue the trip, which he did as the next countries on the agenda were China and North Korea, with support from Mercedes-Benz. Trips to Vietnam and Cambodia followed while the final stop was at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, Germany.
Still running on the original engine, the G-Class rarely broke down and whenever it did, Holtorf had around 400 spare parts stored in aluminum boxes on the roof. The biggest problem occurred during a trip to Madagascar while passing another car when the G-Class began to slide on the soft ground ending with the wheels facing the sky, requiring a trip to Europe for a new body. An axle bearing change was also necessary at 5,000 meters high in the Andes mountains.
The vehicle will be displayed in the Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart, following a 890,000 km (553,020 miles) trip. As a final note, Holtorf and Christine got married two weeks before she passed away.
Source: dw.de and thelocal.de
