RAV4 Goes Extreme

Extreme Conditions. Extreme Athletes. Extreme Competition. Extreme Arctic Adventure. Extreme SUVs.

Welcome to the fourth annual Fulda Challenge, pitting human and machine endurance and never-say-die attitudes against the Canadian Arctic's frigid blasts.

And, for the second year in a row, the Toyota RAV4 has been chosen as the official off-road competition vehicle for the Fulda Challenge. Taking place between Feb.1 and 11, 2004, the challenge features nine national teams, including one from Canada, travelling 2000 kilometres through some of the fiercest, most inhospitable terrain in the world: from Skagway, Alaska, by way of Whitehorse in the Yukon all the way to Eagle Plains in the Arctic Circle.

Along the way, the teams, each consisting of a male and female athlete, will take part in a series of gruelling special tests that include ice climbing, dog sledding, downhill and cross-country skiing, mountain bike racing, 4x4 driving on ice, and car pulling. All while the winds howl and temperatures hover in the minus 30 degrees Celsius range—with quick and unexpected drops to minus 50 and lower come night time.

How dangerous is it? Well, the folks at Fulda warn those either competing in the challenge or coming as spectators to always carefully follow survival instructions and always stay in contact. In fact, if someone does not report their arrival at a particular destination, the RCMP is quickly informed and a "Search & Rescue Team" is sent out.

Each team is equipped with a 4-Wheel-Drive Toyota RAV4 Chili, customized to withstand extreme conditions. And what better place to demonstrate the RAV4's toughness and endurance than on the ice fields of the Arctic Circle?

To make doubly sure the vehicles aren't laid low by the cold and that their passenger compartments remain warm, engines are kept running at all times, even during the night. In case of misfortune during this extreme outdoor sports event, all participants are provided with special thermo-clothing.

Last year, the first prize of about $10,000 in gold nuggets was claimed by the Austrian team of Clara Kulich and Dietmar Thannesberger. The Canadian team of Shelley Wynne Nairn and Jean-Guy Lavoie (she's a professional climber; he's a police demolitions expert) placed a respectable fifth. Not quite as impressive as the first place finish for the Canadian team of Kim Csizmazia and Willy Gadd in 2002.

The Fulda Challenge, created to showcase Fulda's line of performance tires, is scheduled to be shown on the Outdoor Life Network. Canadians can tune in to cheer both their favourite extreme athletes and the amazing RAV4 as they take on the ultimate challenge, a battle against some of the harshest conditions nature can dish out.