On
July 14, a very special Chevrolet Aveo departs from Goodwood motor circuit on a
no-backup, no support, no-set-route Mongol Rally adventure of more than 9,000
miles, to raise money for childrens’ charities.

The Aveo’s FIRST Mongol Rally Team will take a 1.2L Aveo
small car on a journey full of obstacles: mountains, deserts, bad roads, no
roads, bandits. The rally team trio, comprising of an experienced marketing
manager, Guy White, an investment banker, Ed Kliphuis, and a developmental
biology researcher, Arnout Schepers, all of them with no rally or car knowledge,
are driving the Aveo to raise much-needed money for SOS Children’s Villages
along the way.

Asked about their motivation to do this, Guy White answered:
“Life is for living and there are only certain moments in your life when you
can make something like this actually happen. Driving across a third of the
world, meeting so many incredible people, having so many unbelievable memories
and doing some good while doing it, is just a perfect combination. I want to be
one of those grandfathers that has grandchildren who want to hear his stories.”

The team which met – for the first time – three years ago on
a rugby field in Geneva, is collecting donations for SOS Children’s Villages in
Mongolia – to which also the Aveo will be donated. They are also “selling” interesting
interaction opportunities for this good cause along the way: Check it out on:
indiegogo.com/10000mileMongolRally

The Route

The Mongol Rally is very different from other rallies in that
there is no fixed route. There are only two joint milestones that the teams
need to hit: the so-called Czechout Party in the historic Klenova Castle in the
Czech Republic, where live bands will play and people will camp in verdant
meadows, and the arrival parties in Ulaanbaatar. What the team can expect in
between those points and where they will drive exactly is not known to them at
this point in time.

Some teams will go south via Iraq, Iran and Afghanistan,
others will go north via the Arctic circle and another group will travel
through central Asia. “To keep the sense of a true expedition, the organisers,
“the adventurists”, refuse to make any route recommendations or give
information on what to expect,” says Guy White. “This is not a vacation trip.
It is a real adventure, exemplified maybe also by the warning you can find on
the adventurists’ website that some people participating in their rallies lost
their lives or became disabled.”

The team expects to drive the 8,780 km in 34 days and has
planned the following route and schedule:

On its way, the team will visit kids in three SOS Children’s
Villages: in Vienna, Austria, in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, and in Ulaanbaatar,
Mongolia. The team will also transport a care package from the SOS Children’s
Village in Austria to the one in Mongolia and provide virtually indestructible
footballs to the kids in Uzbekistan and Mongolia.

The team’s progress can be followed on
facebook.com/Chevrolet.Charity.Rally.

The adventurists have raised over €4.5 million for charities
with various programs. The money raised with the Mongol Rally will go toward
the Lotus charity for children.

The car

The 1.2L Aveo with 86 hp is the standard production car – but
it has undergone some special preparations for this long trip on often
difficult roads:

• All-terrain
  tyres were fitted
• The
  suspension was reinforced, stiffened and raised
• A front
  bull-bar and drive-train protection guards were fitted
• A high-voltage,
  heavy-duty battery was fitted
• Additional
  headlamps were mounted on the roof carrier and extra interior lights were
  fitted for map reading
• An
  engine sump guard was added
• The
  team are carrying a heavy-duty hydraulic jack, fuel canisters and spare
  wheels and a first-aid kit