THE
LATEST
CHALLENGE
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1994
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THE BORBET CHALLENGE
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On 25th September 1994 a Golf GTI covered in stickers left the tip of Scotland in a bid to set an official quickest time for visiting all 62 counties of mainland Britain.
With the help of Borbet, Continental, Pentax and Nextbase, the team concluded in Lancashire the following day, at 16:45, with 1762 miles under their belt in a time of 31 hours and 33 minutes.
The 1600cc Golf GTI challenge car was heavily backed too, with the support of GTI Services, KONI, King’s Lynn Signs, Tube Torque Competition Manifolds & Systems, Bengrys, Pipercross, and Morris Lubricants. -
2024
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30-YEAR RE-RUN
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To celebrate the 30-year anniversary of this remarkable event, it is planned to revisit the route in a far more relaxed manner, to truly experience the villages, towns and cities that were skirted past without a thought back in 1994.
With a focus on people and history, rather than the stopwatch, the proposed travel show will capture the health of automotive trades up and down the country, from time-honoured engineering shops and restoration businesses, to modern facilities focussed on sustainability, motoring venues and events, key figures of the automotive world, and the associated vistas along the way. -
PRODUCTION
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DOCUMENTARY SERIES
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Duration > 90 minutes per episode
Frequency > Weekly episodes released over the course of the year, with the first show airing on 25th September 2024.
Equipment > We’re currently exploring the viability of filming on our GH4 LUMIX cameras with set of late 1980s-early 1990s Pentax lens. The use of Nextbase dash-cams as an alternative filming approach is also being considered.
Vehicle > A near-identical Golf GTI to the original challenge car, as well as a 1988 Golf GTI, has been sourced for the show.
SPONSORSHIP
BORBET was described in the media back in 1994 as Germany’s leading manufacturer of high quality light alloy wheels for cars and commercial vehicles. Established in 1977, they’d not long celebrated the production of their five millionth wheel in 1993. At the time Borbet A and Borbet C range were the go-to aftermarkets for the Mk1 and Mk2 Golf GTI.
CONTINENTAL was noted in our press material as Germany’s leading tyre manufacturer, with an unrivalled reputation for engineering quality, rain tyre technology and modern product design, ensuring safe, trouble-free and enjoyable motoring for mile after mile. I’m sure little has changed…
NEXTBASE was show-boated back in 1994 as the world’s leading publisher of computerised route planning products, and famed for it’s AutoRoute family of products for which it had just received the Queen’s Award for technology when we took on the round-Britain challenge.
PENTAX was celebrating 75 years at the leading edge of camera technology when we were driving around the country back in 1994. They’d also not long launched their WeatherZoom camera which we used to take the 124 or so photographs to prove our route locations, date/time and mileage for the judges.
ACCOMMODATION
All three of the 1994 drivers shared a family room at the Croughly Farm guest house in Tomintoul, where one of the drivers, Steve ‘Nudge’ Webb, promptly fell asleep, only to keep the other two up with constant sleep-talking. Clearly anxious about the challenge that awaited the following morning he proclaimed throughout the night that: “There’s something going on in that village down there” – followed by “There’s a lot of competition: shit.” The last thing he said on the matter, before allowing us all to get some sleep was “TAKE IT AWAY” – which he shouted at the top of his voice.
THIRTY YEARS WRITING ABOUT CARS
In 1994 the team players included Steve Webb (publican), Sue Sweetman (trainee nurse) and Jon Saxon (music event organiser).
The media partner for the challenge, VW Motoring magazine, asked Jon to maintain a diary of the challenge – resulting in his first byline. This would prompt a career change to become an automotive journalist – all thanks to a fleeting 31 hours and 33 minutes: After working for Yahoo!, The Golf, Eurotuner, Fast Car, Performance Ford, Banzai, CAR and EVO – the latter two as overseas Features Editor and Editor-in-Chief respectively – Jon set up his own publishing company to produce a number of magazines including the pub-culture title Doghouse, and the award-winning RubberDuckMag.
Jon also wrote the 2002 paperback Quarter Mile and Then Some documenting his travels around North America with $480 and his trusty Pentax set-up in search of street racing.