The car is a 1989 BMW 525i automatic. That means it comes with the well proven M20B25 engine mated to a 4-speed automatic gearbox from arguable the masters of their trade - ZF.

The E34 is one of the best looking 5-series ever made. It's silky shape was a huge departure from the more angular E28. And finished in Salmon Silver with classic BBS 15" alloy wheels - ours is certainly a great example.

The bodywork might not be a perfect condition but the interior has weared it's 20 years with ease. But there is little to wear. A simple cloth interior gives the car a more working feel, and the seats are still firm and well sprung - and certainly feel good enough for long journeys.

After the modern luxury of the latest Volvo V70, the BMW feels slightly stark - and not Phillip!! The driving position is short armed - which is nothing unusual for me as the race-car is the same.

20 years ago there was no need for iDrive. The car may have dual zone heating - but it lacks any sort of air-conditioning. The stereo is the original blaupunkt cassette player - but will be replaced with a CD player - to ease the time behind the wheel.

So what about the other features. It has electric mirrors, and that is it!! There are 5 seats, manual windows, no sunroof, and an immaculate BMW toolkit!!

Tackling 8500km in 5 weeks is a tough challenge for any car. So what have we done to the BMW to make our lives more comfortable and the car more resilient to the battering it may take.

The radio was upgraded (as above) but that was all we felt the car needed inside. Externally the car is being fitted with a South African BMW spec sump guard. A pretty solid affair - thick black steel plate moulded over a substantial metal tube - all bolted to the underside of the car. I was originally going to fit fuel tank, fuel pipe and brake pipe protection - but the recessed nature of the parts would seem that the cost would outweigh the benefit.

So back to the basics - the 525 engine would have originally put out 170PS - and should have been capable of averaging 10.5l/10km - around 27mpg. Only time will tell how good our car is at achieving these numbers!!