Don’t worry; the route is suitable for all vehicles. It includes a few rugged trails, but they are not obligatory, and only the 4WDs, 2CVs and hardy 4Ls will tackle them (as long as they have the wherewithal to dig themselves out of the mud!).

What sort of vehicle do I need?

Many people wonder whether they can do the Rally in a normal car. The answer is yes. Paris-North Cape is open to any type of car, as long as it has reasonable ground clearance. There is no such thing as an ideal vehicle and people have completed the Rally in all sorts of cars.

To give you an idea, here is a selection of the cars that have taken part over the years: Renault R4, 11, 4L, Trafic, Twingo, Laguna, Fiat Uno, Citroën 2CV, Berlingo, Xsara Picasso, Peugeot, 203, 206, Partner, 306, Volkswagen Polo, Lada Niva, Toyota Hilux, Land Rover Defender 110, Santana, etc.

We advise you to make sure your car has plenty of well-organised storage space. Tips on how to do this are given in the Participant Pack.

Preparing your vehicle

We would recommend fitting the roof of the passenger compartment with a net pocket in which to store light objects such as road maps. In practice, you can never have too many storage pockets and trays. If there are just two of you in the car, you can take out the back seat – you won’t be needing it. Try to avoid putting anything on the roof – doing so makes the car less stable and increases fuel consumption.

Finally, every vehicle must have a CB radio, both to allow teams to chat amongst themselves and, most importantly, for safety reasons. Even with a radio, we encourage you to take a mobile phone. Having a phone can be very useful, if for example, you have an accident. Mobile phone coverage in Scandinavia is among the best in the world.