new york to paris race

World Race 2011 Recreates Historic 1908 New York To Paris Race

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos, Events

Imagine the scene, Times Square, February 12, 1908 over 250,000 people cheering the start of the race to circle the globe from New York to Paris by automobile. The historic event become the longest auto competition in history, a perilous adventure with uncertain roads and no friendly gas stations at every turn. The Great Auto Race covered 22,000 miles in 169 days as teams from Italy, Germany, France and the United States proved that the newfangled "horseless carriages" were more than just a mechanical curiosity. When he returned to the U.S., the winner of the event, George Schuster, driver of the American built Thomas Flyer, received a hero's welcome.

Tags: car race, great auto race, new york to paris race, race, world race 2011