That’s a small car…

Rule #1 states that the car needs to have an engine less than 1200cc. Now in America we don’t label our engines like that because we do things the right way, and we also don’t make engines that tiny. When’s the last time you saw an advertisement for a 65 horsepower car?

This is just silly, something that small won’t make it!

10,000  miles, with deserts, mountain ranges, rivers, and the roughest of terrain including parts of the world that there are no roads. With 100% certainty we can say that cars are not meant to do what we’re attempting to do in one. And while true that some teams don’t make it, believe it or not, most do. It won’t be easy, but it’s not supposed to be.

How will you all fit in such a tiny car?

Great question, glad you asked. I have no idea. We’re all pretty tall dudes, so that will be a factor in whatever we buy. Probably won’t be purchasing a hatch.

What about all your stuff?

The first tip for packing is to take half of what you think you need. The second tip for packing is to only take half of that. So a toolkit might be whittled down a screwdriver. We’ll have to make some modifications to the car for some of the important things. A roof-rack is 100% necessary because we’ll need a spare or 2 and a few jerry cans when gas is hard to find. Other than that we’re of the mindset that things will just work themselves out. The general mantra of the rally is to be less prepared than more.

So what are we driving?

Short answer is TBD. Apparently the UK is the easiest country in Europe to buy a car in, but of course we live in the US so it’s still kind of complicated. We’re budgeting about £1500 – or $1800 in the currency of the free world. Surprisingly this doesn’t much limit what we can buy, as tiny used cars are quite cheap across the pond. So stay tuned. Chris plans on flying into London March of 2017 to pick out a real beaut.

levon-biss_mongol-rally-2014_2286_v2

dscf2538

img_8551