The record
In 1997 a Land Rover Defender 90 made a unique ascent to the eastern summit of Mount Elbrus in the Russian Caucasus, reaching 5,621 m. The climb took 44 days and involved breakdowns, difficult weather and endless winching and digging; eight team members conquered the mountain with the car, and the ascent was entered into the Guinness Book of World Records as 'The Highest Mountain Climb by Automobile'. The project, led by mountaineer and off-road driver Alexander Abramov, joined two extreme hobbies — mountaineering and conquering off-road terrain by car — and is difficult to imagine repeating even now. The photograph on climbing.ru shows the 90 high on the snow slopes: dark blue with a white roof, a rack with four spot lamps and a load of kit, snorkel, winch, white steel wheels and a patchwork of sponsor decals along its sides.
The registry's model is a Defender 90 hard top in dark blue with the white roof, rack, lamps, snorkel, winch, snow chains on every tyre, roof kit that drops as cargo, white wheels and sponsor decals from the photograph. In the game it ignores track obstacles and starts with the roof-cargo drop.
