Around the world in a Mercedes G-Class: 890,000 km in 26 years

Some people have adventure in their blood. Such is the case of Gunther Holtorf, a former Lufthansa employee, who decided to leave everything behind and hit the road.

To travel the world, Gunther chose as his companion on the road one of the toughest, most resilient and most capable vehicles in history, a G-Class from Mercedes-Benz.

The vehicle in question is a 300GD, first registered in 1988. It is therefore a unit that today has exceeded 25 years, and it has even received a nickname, “Otto”. This German adventurer’s journey began that same year, 1988, with the first years spent traveling through Africa. In 1990, his third wife, who was accompanying him on the trip, decided to part ways during the adventure.

Not one to waste time, this fine man placed an advertisement in a German newspaper looking for a companion to continue his journey. He managed to convince a new woman, who accompanied him until she sadly passed away during the trip in 2010, after suffering from cancer. However, this tragic event did not stop Gunther, who continued his adventure.

The 300GD reached 200,000 km in Argentina during 1998. After also travelling through South America, the adventurous German continued through Central America, Canada, Mexico and Alaska, before setting off for Australia. It was in the Syria area that the Mercedes reached the milestone of half a million kilometres (500,000 km), without suffering any major breakdown. In fact, the engine has been the original one throughout.

After touring numerous European countries, in recent years he has received support from the brand itself, which took an interest in this fantastic adventure upon learning of the feat that Gunther Holtorf was about to achieve. Finally, his route has come to an end at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, where he and the car were received with full honours.
Now, after carrying more than 400 spare parts on board during the journey, the 300GD will rest in the Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart, proudly displaying the figure of 890,000 km.

Source | thelocal.de