The longest road on the earth, the Pan-American Highway, also referred to as the Panamericana, is renowned and was commemorated in 2011 on its 75th anniversary.

From July 2 to July 13, Rainer Zietlow and his team—photographer Marius Biela and mechanic Carlos Fernández—covered the over 23,000 kilometers from Tierra del Fuego to Deadhorse, Alaska, in a record time of 11 days and 17 hours, breaking the existing record by more than two days.

The tour vehicle was a standard Touareg V6 TDI clean diesel. For the trip, they only expanded its tank capacity with two additional tanks, adding 120 liters twice. During this nonstop marathon drive across the Americas, the team crossed 14 countries and nearly all of the world's climate zones. Only between Panama and Colombia was the Touareg transported in a charter plane to avoid the impenetrable Darien jungle.

The transition from the easily crossable pampas to the challenging terrain of the Colombian highlands posed a particular challenge. They had to climb two mountains over 3,000 meters high, and the border to Costa Rica was opened especially at night so that the record-breaking team could pass through. In addition to difficult conditions such as rough gravel roads, a stone impacted the windshield towards the end of the tour on the Dalton Highway. Despite the obstructed view, the trip continued to the finish.

For every kilometer driven, Rainer Zietlow donated 10 euro cents to a Plan International school project in Lima, which he also visited in person.