An expedition like that requires
planning. A lot of it. Kalmar was given two
years by Porsche to do so. We aren’t only
talking about simply finding suitable roads,
but creating bespoke ones just for these trips.
Just like the 1,127 sand dunes which needed
to be counted and eventually tackled while
traversing the Simpson Desert, because there ain’t no
app for that.
Each one had to be guided by the hand of Kalmar.
Each and every one. That means being out of the car,
radio in hand, and talking each participant through.
If that sounds impossible, just think: it needed to be
done twice.
There’s a reason that no other manufacturer
has ever tried tackling this with their customers in
stock vehicles. Maybe even legal reasons. Aside from
requiring balls big enough to wrap a set of all-terrain
tires around, it needed a small but resourceful team
composed of a lead mechanic; a paramedic who can
change tires and play the guitar during campfire; aguest liaison and press officer who could also double
as the only source of information and link to the
outside world when all communication except for a
satellite phone were non-existent; and a support crew
to monitor the real-time progress and situation from a
climate-controlled room in Stuttgart.
Only when Porsche was convinced it wouldn’t be
putting any of its customers in considerable danger
did it give the green light. Even then, it was still
more of an amber one with intermittent flashing
reds literally hours before the flag-off in Queensland,
Australia. In fact, it wasn’t until the last car got
flagged off from the Brisbane dealership did the
PWE crew start to believe it was really happening.*(9: | LIFE
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