The edition of the French daily newspaper Le Matin, on sale on 31 January 1907, launched an unprecedented challenge: “Is there anyone who will undertake to travel this summer from Peking to Paris by automobile?”

Absorbed by the excitement about a new motor vehicle race, enthusiasts came down from all over Europe, though after looking into the journey it was evident that the rally was going to be very difficult, and most likely impossible. The number of enrolled competitors came down to twenty-five. However, on the morning of 10 June, right before the rally, only five competitors showed up: two De Dion-Boutons and a Contal three-wheeler representing France, a Dutch Spyker and the Itala of Prince Scipione Borghese, boarded by mechanic Ettore Guizzardi and journalist Luigi Barzini.

Being an experienced traveller, a few weeks before Borghese prepared fuel and spare parts, set on intervals for the journey, arranging them to come by camel wherever was necessary. A large amount of the 16,000 kilometres of the journey would pass through wastelands and semi-desert areas, thousands of kilometres away from civilization, with no roads to be seen nearby.

Everyday was a conquest and a new challenge for Borghese and his crew. From the mountain mule tracks around Peking to the desert of Gobi, then to the wavy vastness of Mongolia where Itala was able to reach the speed of 90 kilometres an hour, beating even the horses of Mongolian nomads. Then, after the intense heat, mud (just as insidious as quicksands), rivers to be forded and a nagging rain that lasted for days welcomed the open Itala into Siberia. To get a better orientation as they were going through unfamiliar lands, the crew travelled for thousands of kilometres following telegraph poles, the new symbols for progress. To get past the Baykal lake, they travelled on the tracks of the Trans-Siberian Railway as if they were a train themselves.

Itala continued to cover many kilometres and proved to be unstoppable even after falling off a bridge, and its crew members heroically withstood such journey. Once they got to Russia, as at the point the worst was overcome, Borghese was so sure of his vehicle that he decided to make a detour and attend a great ball dance in his honour in St. Petersburg. Borghese knew what he was doing. On 10 August, Itala entered Paris with victory more than twenty days before the only other contestant that was able to reach the end.

Prince Scipione Borghese, the driver

Born in February 1871 in the outskirts of Pisa, aristocrat Don Scipione Borghese was 36 years old at the time of the Rally and had a solid reputation as an alpine, a traveller and explorer. However, he was also a senator of the Kingdom, diplomatic and passionately fond of vehicles, those wonderful motor vehicles that were just dawning but whose potential he was firmly convinced of.
 

As he had already began planning a pleasure trip to Peking in that fateful year 1907, one morning the Prince read about the strange challenge in the newspaper Le Matin and, with no hesitation, he decided to take part in the rally using an all-Italian vehicle which he personally prepared. He was also going to make all the arrangements and cover all expenses and, of course, he was going to be the one to drive. Borghese was strongly determined to win and had all it takes to do it. A true gentleman, resolute and cold, in the Rome jet set he was allegedly nicknamed "The English Officer" due to his reserved manners. Perhaps, he wasn't an outgoing person but was nevertheless a man of character, as he proved to be.

Ettore Guizzardi, the mechanic

A trueborn native of Romagna in 1907, Guizzardi became the trustworthy driver and mechanic of Prince Borghese for ten years. His past was peculiar. When he was fifteen, while watching his father, an engine driver, the train on which they were travelling derailed near Borghese's castle. His father died, but fortunately Ettore, who was urgently brought to the castle, survived and only suffered minor injuries - thereafter he ended up staying in the castle. Borghese quickly became aware of his inborn attraction to engines and made him study mechanics, working on Fiat's workshops, at the Ansaldo plant in Genoa and in other factories. A truly natural talent for gears, Guizzardi was a tireless and enthusiast worker, but mainly loved Itala as if it was his daughter. Barzini points out that one of his favourite hobbies during the journey was to lie back under the car and contemplate it from one side to the other, "from bolt to bolt, part to part, and screw to screw".

Luigi Barzini, the journalist

Luigi Barzini was slightly younger than Borghese. He was born in Orvieto on 7 February 1874 and he also showed up at the start of the Rally with good credentials. A correspondent for the Corriere della Sera first from London and then in China during the Boxer Rebellion, he was able to develop a deep bond with his readers, a relationship that became even tighter during the Rally. People awaited to receive every message holding their breath and "suffering" with him, wondering and being astonished at the vivid descriptions of far away countries, which at the time were unknown. Thanks to Barzini, the Peking to Paris Rally remained memorable for such a long time. He was the unwanted third party, as it were, who sometimes didn't even have a seat - often he had to snuggle on the ground and rested his feet on the footboard so as to leave space for the luggage. His daring attempts to track down telegraphs along the journey in order to send his articles to the newspaper were deservedly part of a true adventure. Barzini was a correspondent for the Corriere della Sera as well as for the British paper The Daily Telegraph.