ASIA under Aston Martin & InterContinental

Two Britons are to drive a factory-prepared Aston Martin from Tokyo to London on an epic journey along the newly completed Asia-Pacific Highway bringing world attention to road safety awareness and raising money to help save children from deaths and injury on the roads.

The journey is being undertaken in collaboration with the United Nations. It will promote the UN-backed Road Safety Is No Accident and the Make Roads Safe campaigns. Both are aimed at increasing awareness of road safety to help reduce the shocking toll of road-related injuries and fatalities, particularly in developing nations. Driving Home Road Safety 2007 aims to raise €100,000 to provide Chinese Children with educational books on road safety.

Teacher Richard Meredith (58) and travel specialist Phil Colley (42) are to set off on the 25th June from the ANA InterContinental Hotel, Tokyo passing through 15 countries to arrive in central London some six weeks later.

Richard and Phil will be driving an Aston Martin V8 Vantage, the same car that in June 2006, marked the celebration of the company's 30,000th production car -- where employees completed 30,000 miles in 30 days. This durability test car has gone on to accumulate 100,000 miles and is now set to become the first car ever to cross the full extent of the new Asia Highway network of roads, arriving in early August in Trafalgar Square, London -- and in doing so achieving a place in the record books.

Much of the highway, which was first mooted 50 years ago and was completed last year, consists of improved roadways, but there are sections in central Asia which will test both the car and drivers to the full. This 10,000 mile journey will see the car travelling through: Japan, South Korea, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Turkey, Bulgaria, Hungary, Austria, Germany, France and the United Kingdom.

The car has received minor modifications to allow it to contend with the expected road conditions. These include a strengthened sump guard, raised suspension and a full size spare wheel. The car will run on standard 18" wheels clad with Bridgestone tyres.

Richard Meredith said "I have dreamed of making this journey for two years. In Aston Martin I have found a partner with the confidence and enthusiasm to subject their car to a very public trial in the name of road safety and the effort they have put into this has been simply terrific."

Category:

Autos & Vehicles

Tags:

• InterContinental
• Beijing
• Financial
• Street
• Xicheng
• District
• Hotel
• Aston
• Martin
• V8
• Vantage
• UNICEF
• Asian
• Highway