[3] The Expedition vehicles were two Land Rover Series I 86" station wagons - one for each three-man university team, and was won by Oxford.
The Expedition travelled through Tunisia, across the Sahara, into Egypt, through Ethiopia,[3] The genesis of the race came as a bet in a bar in Hong Kong between David Waters and Adrian Cowell (who developed and planned the Expedition but was eventually unable to take part).
[3][4] The teams obtained sponsorship and part of the object of the Expedition was to test equipment for some 50 British firms, and to collect information on routes for the explorers' clubs of the two universities.
[3] The Expedition was such a success that it inspired Adrian Cowell to formulate and take part in the famed 1955-6 Oxford and Cambridge Far Eastern Expedition, which travelled overland from London to Singapore in two Land Rovers.
[5] This book 'Boat Race on Wheels: The Oxford Cambridge Trans-Africa Expedition 1954' was finally published in 2023 In addition, Adrian Cowell of Cambridge was involved in the development and planning but unable to take part in the expedition itself.