"Along the road, kept clear by Chinese soldiers, flanked by silent crowds, there are only five cars, parading through the capital of the Celestial Empire at a speed that has never seen before and may never been seen again…"

This is how Luigi Barzini described the 1907 departure of the Peking-Paris Rally, which the Itala won way ahead of the only other competitor that managed to finish the race. And now, a century later, the same Italian automobile is back in the giant Chinese capital. Exactly two months on the road, the same as a hundred years ago.

The Itala and the Overland expedition left Paris on July 20 and reached Peking after crossing Europe and Asia: after a London preview, they crossed France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Poland, Latvia, Estonia, Russia, Mongolia and finally China. 14,000 kilometres, 11 countries and millions of people waving from the sides of the road as the caravan passed through, celebrated by official salutes and public events in every city it touched on. Just as a hundred years ago the national automobile clubs, Italian ambassadors all over the world, motoring fans and, above all, crowds of people in every country on the route offered the Itala a warm welcome, accompanying toward its goal and reliving the atmosphere of the world’s best-known automobile rally for a few moments.
 

Today’s undertaking, promoted by the Automobile Club of Italy with Overland and the Automobile Museum in Turin, reminds the world of the dependability and reputation of Italian-made goods, still capable of repeating the same adventure a hundred years down the road. Itala was followed by Emilia Romagna-Motor Valley – representing the mechanical and automotive district – Pirelli, Iveco, representatives of the food and agriculture industry of Venice Food and the Italy-China Foundation. The Wyler Geneve chronometer that will measure the expedition’s final seconds will be exhibited on the Great Wall.

But the tireless, historic Itala automobile is not stopping in Peking. It will now travel on to Shanghai, circling the race circuit track a couple of hours before the FIA Formula 1 World Championship's Chinese Grand Prix which will be held on October 7. This final date for the Itala will finish off its trip in style, and will also promote the importance of safe driving and responsible mobility.