This spring, 100 vintage cars (pre-1970) left Beijing and raced nearly 9,000 miles to Paris. What’s even crazier is that this has been a tradition since 1907!

Back in 1907, a Paris newspaper named Le matin wrote: “What needs to be proved today is that as long as a man has a car, he can do anything and go anywhere. Is there anyone who will undertake to travel this summer from Paris to Peking by automobile?”

Forty entrants expressed interest, but only five shipped vehicles to Beijing (then called Peking). The newspaper had offered a magnum of champagne to the first team to reach Paris and sent one reporter to ride in each car. The race committee was daunted by organizing a rally circumventing a third of the globe, across a route without roads or gas stations. The world was very different in 1907: camel and yak caravans still crossed the Himalaya on the Silk Road. Most spectators between Peking and Paris had never seen an automobile, let alone could help repair one or offer fuel. The committee cancelled the event. The racers set off anyway.

What began as a friendly rally quickly became competitive. The winner was Prince Scipione Borghese of Italy who entered a 7-liter “Italia” and brought along his own chauffeur. Naturally.

A famous picture shows his car fallen through a bridge’s surface and dangling vertically. But he and his team hoisted it out and repaired it. Later in the race, he was so confident in his lead he took a long detour to St. Petersburg, Russia for a banquet held in honor of his team.

Not every team had it so easy. A French team trying to complete the trip ran out of gas and had to abandon its three-wheel Contal in the desert, barely surviving after being discovered by a camel train.

After the 1917 Russian revolution, the Peking to Paris route was closed to foreigners. It wasn’t until 1990 that a few enthusiasts ran a London to Beijing rally. Then in 1997 “The Second Peking to Paris Motor Challenge” included 94 vintage cars. The Historic Endurance Rally Association has held several Peking to Paris races, but paused during the COVID quarantine. Now, in 2024, the Peking to Paris race is back.

The modern race involves a set route and a convoy of support trucks. But even so, crossing Mongolia and the desert of Kazakstan in vintage cars is an incredible challenge. The race route is a bit of a lesson in geography. During the 37 day race, it takes the drivers over 20 days to cross China, Mongolia, Russia, and arrive in Turkey. They cover all of Europe in about three days.

See an extended look at the 2019 Peking to Paris Challenge in the video below: