ONELIFE #36 – English

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“ADVENTURE
STARTS WITH
A DREAM, AN
INSPIRATION OR
A TWIST OF FATE.
ADVENTURE
IS OUT THERE,
IT’S WAITING
FOR YOU AND
IT’S TIMELESS”
SIMON DAY, DIRECTOR,
LAND ROVER G4 CHALLENGE
It also had to be self-sufficient and make money,
former Event Director Niki Davies reveals: “G4 had to
cover its costs while also underlining the breadth of
capability of a product range synonymous with
adventure, exploration and discovery. I’m pleased to
say it exceeded its targets.”
A second Challenge ran in 2006 across Thailand,
Laos, Brazil and Bolivia. South African adventure racer
Martin Dreyer won, saying: “The Land Rover G4
Challenge was the best experience of my life. Nothing
has come close to it in terms of the enormity of it.
The experience was out of this world.” Australian
competitor Alina McMaster adds: “I don’t know any
other event where you are doing all these sorts of
things. You get so many different fun things to do. It
was the perfect competition.”
THE SPIRIT ENDURES
Today, Land Rover’s adventurous spirit remains alive
and well, as shown by Land Rover Experience‘s global
offerings. But is the time ripe for the return of a ‘pure’
adventure event? Iain, Simon and Niki believe so.
“I can see a future for an event like Camel Trophy,
but based on people, an understandable objective,
and aided by the use of a 4x4 vehicle. The future lies
with the people, supported by the car,” Iain says.
He is backed up by Niki, who today coordinates
brand activities across Jaguar Land Rover UK.
“Adventure is more relevant now than it ever was
before,” she says.
Simon, who now runs a successful events agency,
adds: “Adventure is not defined by the extreme. It
starts with a dream, an inspiration or a twist of fate.
Something happens, something is achieved and a
story is created. The final act is in the telling, the
sharing or keeping secret of those moments that
affect you, change you, and define you and your
mates. Adventure is out there, it’s waiting for you
and it is timeless.”
Today, as they stand next to the classic vehicles, it
is as if the competitions never ended and a hint of
nostalgia hits the air. The group looks as if they’d be
ready to jump back in behind the wheel and start all
over again. The adventure, it seems, still lives on.
DISCOVER MORE
about these extraordinary expeditions and the adventurers
behind them. Search “Legends Reunited - Land Rover 70th
Anniversary” on YouTube or visit http://bit.ly/LandRover70
CHARITABLE ADVENTURE
Now celebrating its own 20th
anniversary, the Fifty 50 Challenge
was a voluntary event created in
1998 by Land Rover employees
to celebrate the 50th anniversary
of the marque. The ambitious aim
was to travel to 50 countries in
50 days and raise 50,000 British
pounds for UNICEF.
Two leading members – former
Land Rover principle vehicle
designer Peter Crowley and
engineer Stuart Martin – were
each reunited with two of the
Challenge’s four vehicles at
Eastnor as part of the exclusive
Onelife gathering: ‘Goldilocks’, a
Defender 110 (so named because
of the golden anniversary paint)
and ‘Baby Bear’, one of the three
early Freelanders that took part.
Stuart Martin explains: “31
colleagues had volunteered to
take part, and after months of
after-hours preparation we made
it happen. In the end we raised
over double the original target
for UNICEF and managed to visit
a total of 56 countries. It was a an
intensely human way to celebrate
Land Rover’s 50th birthday, and it
was a real adventure too!”
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