Expedition
The vehicle
The Ice Challenger vehicle started off life in Canada, before it was shipped to Iceland where a team of three engineers spent almost 2,000 hours to modify it for the Antarctic challenge.
The engineer in charge of the modification joined the Ice Challenger team on their record-breaking journey - bringing his invaluable experience of driving on glaciers and through deep snow to the expedition.
'Even in sunlight in the Antarctic, it is difficult to see contrasts. You can't see the bumps and holes in the ice. My driving was pretty much the same as everyone else's - everyone hit bumps that they shouldn't have hit.' Andrew Regan
Specification
6-wheel drive: all wheels can be independently driven
Engine: low emission, turbo-charged, fuel-injected, 7.3 litre, V8 diesel
Gears: 20
Tyres: 44" high, 21" wide
Size: 6.5m long x 2.54m wide x 2.52m tall
Weight: 4.7 tonnes
Suspension: fully independent air suspension with 26" of travel on each wheel
Power supply: high wattage solar panels for independent power supply
Locators: GPS and satellite communications
'When we were in the queue to embark the vehicle at Tilbury Docks, the guard was so impressed that he took us through a special route. People were stopping to take pictures of it.' Andrew Moon
'We did have some heating in the vehicle, as well as body warmth, and the warmth from the engine. We kept the temperature at about 1-2C because we didn't want too much contrast with the outside temperature.' Andrew Moon
'At one point, we ran the tyre off its rim: which was very frustrating. We also had to stop frequently to change tyre pressure according to the terrain: for example, on soft snow, we had to let air out of the tyres. We stopped two or three times an hour to do this.' Andrew Moon