German world-record driver Rainer Zietlow and his team set a new world record on the Pan-American Highway, also known as the Panamericana. This road stretches over 22,100 kilometers (13,700 miles) through 14 countries from Alaska to Argentina.
They completed the journey in just 10 days and 19 hours, surpassing Rainer's previous record of 11 days and 17 hours set in 2011 with a Volkswagen Touareg.
The record-breaking vehicle was a standard Volkswagen Amarok V6 with 224 hp manufactured at the Volkswagen plant in Argentina. The only modifications were an additional 120-liter fuel tank and two LED lights.
The team started in Deadhorse, Alaska, on June 20, 2019, and finished in Ushuaia, Argentina, on July 1, 2019. Deadhorse and Ushuaia are twinned cities, so upon his arrival in Ushuaia, Rainer Zietlow handed over a gift from the northern twin town. To cross the Darien Jungle between Panama and Colombia, where the Pan-American Highway is interrupted, Rainer Zietlow and his team used a scheduled cargo plane.
Volkswagen Argentina, Michelin/Pylon, Shell, TMD Friction, Volkswagen Accessories, Borbet, and Kuehne + Nagel supported Rainer Zietlow’s Panamericana 2.0 world record.
Since 2005, Rainer Zietlow has supported the international aid organization SOS Children's Villages through his projects. This time, he donated 3,000 euros to a children’s village in Montevideo, Uruguay, which he visited on July 9, 2019.
