Last December, a team driving a vehicle called the Ice Challenger completed their world record attempt of the fastest overland crossing to the South Pole. They smashed the previous record of 24 days, covering the distance in just 69 hours.  The Ice Challenger uses a low emission, turbo-charged, fuel-injected, 7.3 L V-8 diesel engine.

The route covered some 1,200 km, requiring the vehicle to negotiate deep crevasses, climb steep ice slopes and cross rugged fields of rubble ice to get to their goal of the South Pole. Constant driving and no sleep pushed both man and machine to the limit to achieve success.

According to information released on the team’s website, this expedition has been officially recognized by Guinness World Records as a successful attempt and new world record. It beats the previous record by the Japanese adventurer Shinji Kazama, who traveled to the South Pole from Patriot Hills near the Antarctic coastline on a modified Yamaha motorcycle in 24 days from Dec. 10, 1991 to Jan. 3, 1992. He was supported by a snowmobile that carried emergency supplies and offered occasional assistance over rough terrain. In 1958 Sir Edmund Hillary led an expedition using tractors with tracks that took 82 days to get to the Pole.

To get this unique vehicle built, a team of three engineers spent almost 2,000 hours to modify it to its current form. The work was done in Iceland. The vehicle is a 6-wheel drive truck; all wheels can be independently driven. There are 20 gears in the transmission. To support the weight of the vehicle on loose snow, tires are 44 inches tall and 21 inches wide. The suspension is a fully independent air suspension with 26 inches of travel at each wheel.  Solar panels augment the power supply, and the vehicle is equipped with GPS and satellite communications.