From the archives of Bob Montgomery, motoring historian
PEKING TO PARIS: On January 31st, 1907, the celebrated French newspaper Le Matin carried the headline on its front page 'PARIS - PEKING: A Stupendous Challenge'.
In the article that followed circuit races were dismissed as "motor cars chasing their tails in tight circles" and it was asked "What needs to be proved today is that as a man has a car he can do anything and go anywhereIs there anyone who will undertake to travel this summer from Paris to Peking by automobile?"
As many as 25 teams answered the challenge but when the June 10th start arrived there were only five starters - many, no doubt, scared away by the 2,200 franc entry fee.
Of those who came to the start - now changed to Peking to allow a grand finale in Paris - it was the Italian nobleman, Prince Scipione Borghese who was the firm favourite.
His 4-cylinder 7.4 litre Itala was specially built for the event, and was joined by a 4-cylinder Dutch Spyker driven by a stunt motorcyclist, Charles Godard, as well as a 2-cylinder De Dion-Bouton driven by one Georges Cormier, another De Dion-Bouton driven by Edgardo Longini and Victor Collignon and finally a hopelessly small and lightweight single-cylinder Contal tri-car driven by August Pons.
From Peking the route would take the contestants across the wilds of Mongolia, across the Gobi desert, Siberia and eastern Russia to Moscow, and then on to Warsaw, Berlin and the finish in Paris - a total distance of 10,000 miles.
Even getting to the start in Peking would be an adventure.
The first problem faced was the Chinese authorities, who were afraid that these strange devices were being used to survey routes by which the West could invade China. With this in mind and the unpredictable route through China the contestants agreed to stay in convoy until they reached Irkutsk in Russia where the race proper would begin.
Conditions were so bad that it took them seven days to cover the first 200 miles and it was not until the Mongolian plateau had been reached that reasonable progress could be made.
By then the Contal was, not surprisingly, out. Now came the 6,000 mile journey across Siberia and Russia, where conditions were so bad that Borghese sought, and received permission to drive on the railway track of the Trans-Siberian Railway!
At one point while hastily vacating the track as a train approached, a wooden bridge collapsed under the considerable weight of the Italia, almost crushing its occupants.
Meanwhile the other contestants often resorted to hitching their cars to half-wild horses in an attempt to gain ground on the Italia, but by the time Borghese reached Moscow he and his crew had a lead of no less than 18 days.
Without further trouble - and having the time to fulfil a number of social engagements as he proceeded triumphantly through Europe - Borghese entered Paris on August 10th having covered the 10,000 miles in 60 days across some of the world's roughest terrain.
As he pulled up in front of the offices of Le Matin, Borghese explained: "We never thought of the final goalEvery day when we awoke we concentrated on nothing but getting the day's stage done well. Such a journey requires more patience than daring."
Some 20 days later the Spyker and two of the De Dion-Boutons arrived together in Paris.
The winning Italia was shown at the London Olympia Motor Show in 1908, but en route to New York for another exhibition, rolled off the dockside into the sea at Genoa.
An ignoble end for a car which had survived so many hazards on its epic journey from Peking to Paris.