The ancient Silk Road, which runs from Shanghai to Venice, is a good 12,000 kilometers long. In August 2017, Rainer Zietlow set off on the journey with a small team, aiming to cover this distance in record time.

For this record attempt, they used the new Volkswagen Tiguan TSI with 150 hp, produced at Volkswagen Kaluga. The production vehicle was only slightly modified for the tour. Apart from an additional 150-liter fuel tank, LED high beams in the front, and stronger springs in the rear, the vehicle remained unmodified.

Accompanying world record driver Rainer Zietlow were two Russians: Petr Bakanov, a journalist from Auto Mail.Ru, and Dmitriy Makarov, a professional photographer. They documented the attempt to cover the distance from Shanghai to Venice in the footsteps of the famous Marco Polo in less than six days, a new record time. It was to become the seventh long-distance world record for Rainer Zietlow.

The ancient Silk Road crosses Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Iran, Turkey, Bulgaria, Serbia, Croatia, and Slovenia. The most exciting and difficult part was traveling through China, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, and Iran, where there were many border crossings, a desert climate, bumpy gravel roads, and deep potholes. The Tiguan and the team were therefore put to the test.

After 12,575 kilometers and only 5 days and 18 hours, they finally reached Venice, Italy, setting a new record. Zietlow has supported the SOS Children’s Villages through his projects since 2005. This time, they visited a Children’s Village in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, where Zietlow personally handed over a donation of ten euro cents per kilometer driven.