Press releases in detail

Sep 9, 2008

People have always had the urge to explore "the very ends of the earth". And motor vehicles have been used on such voyages of discovery ever since they have been in existence. The new special exhibition "To the ends of the earth – legendary expedition and long-distance journeys" at the Audi museum mobile (September 10, 2008 to January 7, 2009) shows twelve extraordinary exhibits that took their venturesome drivers on journeys around the globe.

The urge to explore and travel to far-off places is central to the history of mobility: this very urge is what inspired man to develop and make use of every means of transport. A spirit of adventure has always stirred drivers to explore their limits. Original vehicles that covered thousands of kilometres in the remotest regions of the world now bear testimony to their adventurous travels at the Audi museum mobile.

Ever since the motor car was first invented, people have used it on their "wanderings". In 1888, Bertha Benz set out on secret journeys in her husband's patented motor car. The Sahara Desert was crossed in 1922 by an extraordinary semi-tracked vehicle, the Citroën Autochenille B2, which had a crawler drive instead of rear wheels: its two French drivers covered a distance of 3,200 kilometres in three weeks, reaching a top speed of 25 km/h. The original commando vehicle, the "Scarabée d’Or" (Golden Beetle) is now on display at the Audi museum mobile.

The "Max Reisch" expedition vehicle is another rare specimen in roadworthy condition. Max Reisch set out on the bold venture to cross Asia by car in an Austrian Steyr Type 100. From the nose as far back as the A-post it is identical to a standard Steyr; from the A-post backwards the body is a specially built aluminium structure with a small load platform, and was designed by Professor Max Reisch himself. The 40,000-kilometre journey in the 32 hp Steyr took two years.

The trip undertaken by the two Czechs Miroslav Zikmund and Jiri Hanzelka was even more daunting: they set out in a Tatra Type 87 in 1947 on their journey around the world. The vehicle was notable for its streamlined body, independent suspension, rear-mounted engine and air-cooling, and was driven by a powerful V8 engine. The Tatra Type 87 accomplished the three-year journey through Africa and America without any major hitches, clocking up almost 90,000 kilometres in the process. This illustrious Czech car, on loan from the National Technical Museum in Prague, is making its first appearance in Germany.

The four rings, too, were commonly to be seen on expeditions, and four notable vehicles are on display in the new special exhibition at the Audi museum mobile: in 1935/1936 Paul Hartlmaier covered 18,000 kilometres on his expeditions in India in three different versions of the DKW F5 Meisterklasse, taking as his motto "three times 20 horsepower". As none of the original vehicles survived the taxing exploit, an identical model of the DKW F5 Meisterklasse, a four-seater cabriolet/saloon from 1935, is on display.

The DKW Munga was a popular off-road vehicle on numerous expeditions, including to the Himalayas and Peru. And in 1978, two standard Audi 100 models with diesel engine circumnavigated the globe in 66 days, clocking up 30,000 kilometres in the process. A DKW Munga, an Audi 100 and the Audi A4 in which Gerhard Plattner accomplished the 1995 Panamericana run from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego in 20 days, 11 hours and 55 minutes are all on display. He had already caused a stir with his first run in 1992 in a standard hybrid car, the Audi Duo, from Ingolstadt to Expo '92 in Seville. This was the first long-distance trip to be undertaken in a hybrid vehicle. Gerhard Plattner also completed some truly tough endurance runs in completing the most economical circumnavigation of the globe in 1992 in an Audi 80 TDI (average consumption 3.78 l/100 km at 85.8 km/h) and the fastest round-the-world journey in an Audi S2 (in 28 days and 16 hours) in 1991.

There will be twelve cars and anecdotes in abundance to enthral car and travel enthusiasts, and indeed anyone with an unquenchable thirst for far-off places, at the Audi museum mobile from September 10, 2008 to January 7, 2009. But the exhibition also covers various explorers who journeyed without the assistance of the motor car, such as Ferdinand Magellan, who sailed around the world between 1519 and 1522, and Friedrich Gustav Kögel, who travelled the world on foot at the end of the 19th century. Not forgetting Heinrich Horstmann, who cycled around the world – not on a modern-day, 21-gear trekking bike, but on an early contraption built in 1895. Finally, the special exhibition includes a model of the Messerschmitt ME 108 "Taifun" in which long-distance aviator Elly Beinhorn pulled off the remarkable feat of becoming the first woman to fly round the world single-handed.