What is the longest journey in car?
Emil and Liliana Schmid hold the record for the longest car journey, driving over 741,065 km (460,476 mi). Their epic trip began in 1984, spanning 186 countries in their trusty Toyota Land Cruiser, and remarkably, continues to this day.
Whats the Longest Car Journey Possible?
Okay, so the longest freakin’ car journey?
Official record, April 4th, 2017: 741,065 km (460,476 miles). Emil and Liliana Schmid did it. Toyota Land Cruiser.
These Swiss peeps, Emil and Liliana Schmid, started driving October 18, 1984, and are still going?! Seriously, wow. Like, that’s dedication. That’s, like, my entire life, plus some.
186 countries! In one Land Cruiser. Can you imagine the oil changes, the border crossings, the sheer will power? I once drove from New York to Miami and almost lost my mind. Granted, I was driving a beat-up Honda Civic and subsisting on gas station coffee and questionable hotdogs.
I drove from NY to Miami in 2014 with my friend, costed me $200 of gas and we eat a lot of fast food, and I thought it’s long. This thing is next level. This Swiss couple is crazy.
My car would’ve fallen apart like, 5 countries in, if I’m lucky. I wonder how much they spent on repairs? Wonder if they have a favorite country.
What is the longest time driving a car?
30195 kilometers. 92 days. Honda Amaze. Across 11 Asian countries. Hitendra Sharma. 2017. Wow. Imagine. Just driving. And driving. Gwalior, India. Where even is that? Gotta look that up. 11 countries. What a trip. Bet that car needed some serious maintenance afterward. Oil changes. Tire rotations. The works. 30195 km is… a lot. Think of all the gas. Insane. Longest solo drive. Emphasis on solo. No friends. No family. Just the open road. Must’ve seen some crazy stuff. Met interesting people, maybe? Or maybe just wanted to be alone. Wonder what his playlist looked like. 92 days of music. Gotta be diverse. Rock, pop, classical, maybe some local tunes from those 11 countries. International Book of Records. Cool. A world record. Imagine holding that title. Sharma. Gotta remember that name. Impressive. Think I’ll drive to the store later. Maybe grab some snacks. Road trip essentials.
- Hitendra Sharma: Driver
- 30195 km: Distance
- 92 days: Duration
- Honda Amaze: Car
- 11 Asian countries: Route
- 2017: Year
- Gwalior, India: Starting Point
- International Book of Records: Record Holder
What is the longest distance you can travel by car?
Prudhoe Bay… Ushuaia. Yeah, that’s it.
The Pan American Highway. It’s long. So, so long.
I think it’s 19,000 miles. Around 30,000 kilometers. Feels like a lifetime, doesn’t it?
It goes…up, then down. Alaska to Argentina. Prudhoe Bay to Ushuaia. Crazy, you know?
It’s the longest road. Period. I guess that’s something.
My dad always wanted to drive it. He never did.
- Dad’s Dream: He had maps. Marked with routes, notes. “Someday,” he’d say. Now the maps are just… there.
- The Car: I remember his old station wagon. Wood paneling. He imagined taking it. It barely made it to the grocery store.
- Why Ushuaia? I never understood why that town. The end of the world, he called it.
- Grief: He always wanted to travel. But, he never did. I feel like he should’ve.
- No answers: Everything feels like a what if now.
- My mom: I can almost see my mom’s smile when she talks about him. She’d laugh. But, her laugh is lonely now.
What is the longest distance a car has Travelled?
Irv Gordon’s Volvo. 3,250,257 miles. That’s it.
Who even wants to drive that much?
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The Car: 1966 Volvo 1800S. Red. A classic. Predictable reliability.
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The Driver: Irv Gordon. Obsessive. Died in 2018. Drove until the end, nearly.
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The Mileage: Documented. Verified. An insane number.
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Beyond the Record: What’s the point? Cars are metal coffins. They rust. So does the driver.
My uncle, Jack, had a Volvo once. Smelled like mothballs. Drove it ’til it died, maybe 200k. Not that impressive. He loved his car. I guess.
Philosophically speaking, is it a great accomplishment to drive a car for 3 million plus miles? I just don’t know.
How long are most car journeys?
Most car trips? It’s a surprisingly complex question. Think about it—a quick grocery run versus a cross-country road trip. Worlds apart.
Average commuting trips are under 30 minutes, yeah, that’s pretty standard. My own commute, before I started working from home in 2023, was a brutal 45 minutes each way. A real time suck.
But leisure drives? Those are all over the map. Hours? Days? Even weeks for some serious adventurers. It depends entirely on the goal, right? A weekend getaway to the mountains? A whole different beast than driving to visit Grandma Sue.
Studies in 2024 suggest a global average closer to 30 minutes. But that’s misleadingly simple. Urban areas, densely packed with destinations, will obviously have shorter average trips than sprawling rural landscapes. Makes perfect sense. There’s more to consider.
- Urban vs. Rural: Big difference. City = short trips. Country = longer ones.
- Purpose of Trip: Commuting is short. Road trips? Much longer. It’s like comparing apples to… spaceships.
- Regional Variations: Average trip lengths vary wildly across the globe. That 30-minute average is a rough estimate, a bit of a generalization really. Think of Brazil versus Japan— entirely different driving cultures and patterns.
It’s funny how something seemingly simple – the length of a car journey – reveals a lot about how people live, work, and play. Pretty deep, huh? My cousin in Montana, she drives 2 hours one way to get groceries. Crazy.
What is the longest road trip possible?
Alaska…Prudhoe Bay, shimmering heat haze rising, the start. Ushuaia, then, wind-whipped, end of the world. Fourteen thousand miles unfolds. The road, a serpent.
Border crossings, yes, stamps blurring, a memory haze. Ferries, rocking gently, time suspended. Planning. Preparation. Is it worth it?
Road conditions…seasonal closures…contingencies dance like dust devils. Dusty dreams. So much dust.
- Prudhoe Bay, Alaska to Ushuaia, Argentina: A mythic stretch.
- Pan-American Highway: A ribbon unwinding.
- Fourteen Thousand Miles: The sheer audacity of distance.
Political unrest…natural disasters. Nature’s indifference. The route, broken, then mended. What was I saying? My grandmother’s china, chipped, imperfect, loved.
That road, I see it still. A shimmer on the horizon. Always. A challenge? A promise? Nah, a maybe thing.
- Borders, so many, fences too.
- Ferries, that one in Greece.
- Roads, some paved, others…not.
Fourteen thousand miles, stitched with sunlight, stained with rain. Ushuaia beckons, always. If I could only remember where I put my keys. Darn.
Can you drive from Cape Town to Russia?
Cape Town to Russia? Buckle up, buttercup. A mere 12,491 km. Think of it as a brisk jog…across continents. Seven days and four hours? My last trip to the grocery store felt longer.
Driving it? Sure, if your car runs on pure grit and wanderlust.
Airlines from O.R. Tambo to Volgograd? Ah, airlines. Those winged chariots. Sadly, direct flights are rarer than finding a decent parking spot downtown.
- No direct flights exist. Shocking, I know!
- Expect layovers. Lots of them. Consider it an unplanned tour of…airports.
- Check major carriers. Perhaps Emirates. Turkish Airlines? Qatar Airways? They’re the usual suspects for these globetrotting adventures.
- Be prepared to embrace the spirit of flexibility. Flight schedules are about as predictable as my cat’s mood swings.
You might need a visa. Maybe several. Think of it as collecting passport stamps, not bureaucratic hurdles.
Pro Tip: Pack snacks. Good ones. Airport food? Please.
What is the world record for the longest drive without stopping?
8,018 miles. A marathon. Human endurance. A testament to… something.
- Impractical. Who needs that?
- Sleep deprivation. Obvious consequence. Predictable.
2009. Ancient history. Irrelevant now.
My uncle, David, drove cross-country. Took him a week. Far less impressive. But he stopped for food.
The record: likely broken. Humans are relentless. Foolish perhaps.
Technological advancements. Self-driving cars. The future will rewrite records. Think of the implications. Loneliness.
Steven and Johnnie. Names fade. Numbers remain. A pointless pursuit. A strange sort of freedom.
Current Record (2024): Uncertain. Verification is difficult. Documentation matters. Long drives aren’t exactly tracked like Olympic records.
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