Since 2011 The Longest Drive team has been covering immense distances in record time, a task for which their Porsche Cayenne is ideally suited. Yesterday the team completed their 10,858 mile journey from Norway’s North Cape to Cape Agulhas in South Africa in just 8 days, 21 hours and 3 minutes. Not only is this achievement a testament to the team’s capabilities, but Porsche’s SUV which can live up to their endurance racing and Dakar heritage.
Porsche’s 2015 victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans took the winning team 5,383.46 kilometers, or 3,345.12 miles in 24-hours. The Longest Drive took their Cayenne, pictured above, more than five times that distance in eight days. Past team members, including Oskar Slingerland, have experience in the more famous French 24-hour event.
The Porsche Cayenne used to make the treck was a Turbodiesel prepared by ORC in Germany, who also supported the Porsche factory effort in the Trans-Siberian Rally. The Cayenne has been upgraded with a roll cage, high performance suspension and gearbox, 200l fuel tank, water tanks, bull bar with winch and improved lighting.
The rear cabin area sports a specially mounted Recaro seat with racing harnesses for the team’s sleep-rotation, along with a fridge, storage compartments, and stowage for the team members’ luggage.
The trek from Norway to South Africa was only the most recent in a series of challenges undertaken by the team. The team has attempted the journey from Norway to South Africa once before. Their last attempt was halted by a run-in with a Zebra in Tanzania, which inspired the Cayenne’s current livery.
Previous successful journeys included a 7,959 mile trip across Eurasia, 4,575 miles across the 48th parallel in North America, and a circumnavigation of Australia, a distance of 8,674 miles on highway one.
Mary feeding her chicken
The Longest Drive has partnered with several corporate partners, including The Instructory, Sydbank, Eneos Motor Oil, Salomon, Sora Tours Ethiopia, the Agulhas Country Lodge, Formegon and Teufel. The Longest Drive supports the charity Farm Africa. Farm Africa is working to end hunger and poverty in Africa by working with farmers to ensure they have proper equipment, and manage their land effectively. More can be read about Farm Africa on their website and you can learn more about The Longest Drive and their adventures here.