Before the team left on this massive adventure, it was also a chance to reacquaint themselves with the vehicle that is to be their companion on this drive - the Mercedes-Benz GLA-Class.
The visit to the Mercedes-India plant in Chakan outside Pune to watch the car being assembled was indeed special. Mercedes-Benz India also had all its dealers from across the country present in Chakan on the day. After a quick rundown of exactly what this adventure is all about, everyone assembled at the gates of the Mercedes-Benz India headquarters as the company's head of operations in India - Eberhard Kern, flagged off the GLA and the GL - which will complete the convoy - off on their epic journey.
The team left Chakan, and skirted the city of Pune to head to the Pune-Mumbai expressway. The cars then made their way to the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport to board their flight out of India.
One must understand that the very nature of this kind of a drive means that, at certain points, the cars will be required to be shipped across geographies. This is due to geo-political constraints on land-crossings, and also having to traverse the world's oceans.
That said, the cars will definitely be running several thousand kilometres on all 6 inhabited continents, covering many countries and cultures. They will return to India only in February, 2016 - that should help one gain a sense of just how arduous and intense this journey will be. The aim is to roll in to India in time for the biennial Auto Expo in the nation's capital - where the cars and their crew, will be welcomed home.
Know more about the Great OverLand Adventure here.
