The London to Peking Motor Challenge was a one-time car rally organized by the Jules Verne Society in the Spring of 1990.
In March 1907, the Parisian newspaper Le Matin issued a challenge for anyone to drive from Peking to Paris by motor-car.
A ferry across the Caspian Sea took the drivers to present day Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Kyrgyzstan, before entering China, crossing the Gobi Desert and arriving in Beijing on June 4, 1990, coincidentally the first anniversary of the crackdown on demonstrators in Tian'anmen Square.
The 1907 event was not intended to be a race or competition, but quickly became one due to the pioneering nature of it and the technical superiority of the Italians' car, a 40-HP Itala.
A 60-minute highlights broadcast was hosted and narrated by actor Cliff Robertson and shown on ESPN in the United States.