All-New Mazda3 Completes Intercontinental Trek

FRANKFURT – Sept 9, 2013: The epic 2013 Mazda3 Hiroshima to Frankfurt Challenge Tour has come to an end with the convoy of All-New Mazda3s arriving at the Frankfurt Motor Show.

After 30 days of driving, the final stage of the event saw the eight All-New Mazda3s leave Russia and enter the former eastern bloc countries of Belarus and Poland, and then Germany.

Having endured gravel, dust and broken bitumen, hidden potholes, rocks the size of watermelons, driving rain, mountain ranges and contaminated petrol throughout Siberia, the All-New Mazda3s enjoyed the high quality roads and excellent driving conditions of Eastern Europe.

While the high-tech Blind Spot Monitoring and Smart City Brake Support were a welcome addition on the crowded streets of Moscow, the SKYACTIV-G 2.0-litre petrol engines purred as they hit the no-speed limit autobahns of Germany.

Despite several flat tyres and other tests during the event, the stylish new generation Mazda3 withstood some of the world’s toughest driving conditions, coming out on top each time.

Based on similar long distance expeditions staged by Mazda in 1977 and 1990, the 2013 Mazda3 Hiroshima to Frankfurt Challenger Tour was designed to test the All-New Mazda3’s reliability, durability and the outstanding performance of SKYACTIV Technology.

Driven by rotating teams of media from all over the world including journalists from Top Gear Australia and Carsales.com.au, the eight All-New Mazda3 hatchbacks were transported over the Sea of Japan from Hiroshima and arrived at Vladivostok in late-July.

Starting out from Russia’s Far-East on August 3, the convoy travelled 15,000 kilometres, crossed two continents, five countries, nine time zones and through over 30 cities including Moscow, Minsk, Warsaw and Berlin before arriving in Frankfurt.

Four of the eight All-New Mazda3s will feature at the Frankfurt Motor Show, one will star on the Mazda stand and three at an outdoor area of the exhibition grounds dedicated to the tour.

The Frankfurt Motor Show starts on 10 September and concludes on 22 September, 2013.