The Slybeast's final tour #5: the scrapyard

The Slybeast's final destination! After a tense negotiation with the manageress ("how much do you want to pay for the car?" - "how do you want to pay us for scrapping the car?" - "no, you pay me" - "no, you pay us") we shook on not charging each other any money. Having removed the plates and the airhorn and said goodbye to the Slybeast we left the yard. To the airport, pronto!

The Slybeast's final tour #4: the Vatican

Here, we were immediately pulled over by some nice Italian policemen, Guardia di Finanze, who wanted to know a bit about the Slybeast, what we were doing, why the car looked like a shark, and to see all our paperwork. They helpfully directed us to the scrapyard we were looking for and sent us on our way.

The Slybeast's final tour #3: Piazza del Popolo

The Slybeast's final tour #2: the Colloseum

The Slybeast's final tour #1: the Typewriter

Day 4+1 : 1714 : 1,485 miles : Roma, IT

Team Sly have been permitted a Triumph in the ancient Roman tradition, and were allowed to drive the Slybeast around Rome.

These Romans are crazy! Cars are left everywhere, double parked. There are mopeds everywhere, coming from all angles. The traffic is like a living entity, with drivers changing lanes using the Force, which would cause huge pile-ups in the UK but the Italians are expecting it so it just kind of ... flows. So, you just have to go with that flow, with liberal use of the (Dodge Charger) airhorn. And watch out for mopeds.

Night 4: 2305 : 1,479 miles : Trastevere, Roma, IT

Night 4: 2150 : 1,479 miles : Piazza Navona, Roma, IT

We won! First place for Team Sly.

Day 4: 1730 : 1,479 miles : Roma, IT

We're here! We arrived at our hotel a little while ago and we are shortly off to Piazza Navona for the prize giving ceremony and final party.

Day 4: 1535: 1,444 miles: Colleferro, Lazio, IT

We're done! Three photos of us and a bemused Italian in three little towns in Lazio. Now, to Roma!

Day 4: 1227: 1,400 miles: Albano, Lazio, IT

We're off to Rome today: the finish is at Piazza Navona, Rome. This is not very far from Viterbo, and the challenge today takes us the other side of Rome to some local towns.

Today, we simply need a photo of the car and the team in front of a public building from three towns from a choice of twelve. The twist is, the points are graded so the least visited town score the highest - so some lateral thinking and careful route planning required.

Night 3: 2157: 1,231 miles: Viterbo

We've arrived! Finally ... and we managed to get the last three group shots at a number of service stations on the way. Tomorrow, Roma!

Stewart has been keeping us alert with his Connery impression: "a double blow-out ... I've never seen one of THOSE before" (see picture).

Day 3: 1943: 1,247 miles: Montepulciano

We are still on the road, about an hour out of Viterbo. Driving conditions: extremely poor. On the upside, we've just had another successful hit on some unsuspecting Italians, who all happily gathered round to take a photograph for the evento beneficianza. We're up to 7/10 now, and can't afford to drop any points on this challenge, a bit like golf.

Day 3: 1643: 1,147 miles: Loiano Rioveggio

We're making good time today; there's only a couple of hours driving time until we hit Viterbo. The Merc is running pretty well now since the run is almost entirely motorways today, and it's a comfortable cruise once it gets up to speed.

The challenge is going well. Five out of ten photos bagged, including a coachload of bemused Chinese tourists, some locals at a restaurant, and a group of motorcyclists who, through some sort of linguistic misunderstanding caused by my inept Italian, all jumped on the roof of our car for the shot ...

Please send money to our charity

If you get a mo, why not send some money to our charity Riders?

You can do so here:

http://www.justgiving.com/TeamSly/

They provide motorbikesn 4WD vehicles and technical support to health workers in Africa (not Aprica)

Day 3: 1045: 945 miles: Edolo, IT

We are doing very well at the challenge! We have cajoled a nice Italian lady into rounding up some other Italians to get in our photo. Some other teams looked as if they wanted to steal our shot, but we made sure that the lady understood "molto importante, non es fotografia con los autros inglese". She got the idea.

Day 3: 0915: 931 miles: Aprica, IT

We are ready for the off, after a big (and semi-successful, from our perspective) water fight.

To Viterbo today. Our challenge is to get a load of photos of us in Stig costumes, with a few Italians in the shot.

Day 3: 0804: 931 miles: Aprica, IT

Fancy dress day! The prescribed fancy dress this year is Top Gear's the Stig. First, a waterpistol fight in Aprica town square, then it's off to Viberto, in southern Italy ...

Night 1: 2048: 931 miles: Aprica, IT

We've arrived! We've also just found a stow away, a snail on our windscreen wiper which seems to have come out for the rain. Stewart is fairly sure it was on there in Camberwell, so a fairly well travelled snail, then.

We've done pretty well on the challenges today: no one else found a Bugatti, apparently ...

Day 1: 2006: 923 miles: Tirano, Swiss-Italian border

We're still on the road! Not far from the destination for tonight, Aprica. Stewart has been uncertain, for a few hours now, whether we are in fact going to Africa, but that seems to have been cleared up now. We've had a good day in the passes - some great views and brilliant driving roads - can't say the same about the car which is fiercely complaining about every twist and turn.

We seem to have done quite well on the challenges: we turned spotting supercars into an art from when we chanced upon a supercar rally at St Moritz.

After Chur we headed along Julierpass and Berninapass before the border - the latter turned into the Pass of Doom as night - and fog - fell.

Team Sly were stopped at the border, the Swiss gave our car the once over before letting us leave the country, and the Italians just waved us through - so a fitting way to leave a land of precise and orderly rules, to a country of latin insousiance. Now, pizzerias everywhere!

Day 2: 1713: 824 miles: Churwalden, CH

We've made very slow progress - the Slybeast is really not liking going uphill, even in low gears, and seems to develop its own traffic jam after moments. We have addressed this by adding some viper stripes, which will hopefully allow us to maintain momentum.

Day 2: 1156: 736 miles: Grimselpass, CH

We're up in the alps now - fantastic scenery - Grimselpass, then Furkapass, on through Chur and St Moritz until we hit Italia. However, the car has started making some bad smells - brake discs, we think. So we're taking regular stops to let it cool down, and hoping for the best

Day 2: 0932: 621 miles: Sarnen, CH

The start line! 100 or so cars in a car park just outside of Sarnen. Today's challenge: spot the supercar. We did we out of yesterday's challenge, getting 7 out of 8 points.

The Slybeast is running a bit rough. Seriously underpowered, and with an intermittent oil warning light. The engine oil is fine so we THINK it's the automatic gearbox - but it seems they don't sell such a thing in France. So we have stopped at a garage just after the start to fill up the oil. We seem to have difficulty maintaining any speed at all on these mountain passes ...

Night 1: 2109: 621 miles: Sarnen, CH

We've arrived! Did well on the challenges, car a bit knackered and slow, Alps tomorrow.

Day 1: 1743: 525 miles: Strasbourg outskirts

We've been driving for nearly a full day!

We have been set a challenge: to photograph a number of things, including some cop cars, a Ferrari 430, a Ford Mustang, a British prime minister's name and a confederate flag. We are doing fairly well, despite a meandering and ultimately fruitless sidetrack through Epernay to find a bottle of Pol Roger with Churchill's name on it. We have, however found the Ferrari (they seemed a bit jealous of the Slybeast's fin), some cop cars and we've established the Swiss flag is a confederacy flag, and it can't be long until we find a (Ramsay) Macdonald's?

We've noticed that we may have attached the fin on a little too enthusiastically (see pic) - seems to be holding. The oil light keeps coming on, which we think is the automatic gearbox, but nowhere sells any gearbox oil. Wing and a prayer, anyone?

Day 1: 1743: 525 miles: Strasbourg outskirts

We've been driving for nearly a full day!

We have been set a challenge: to photograph a number of things, including some cop cars, a Ferrari 430, a Ford Mustang, a British prime minister's name and a confederate flag. We are doing fairly well, despite a meandering and ultimately fruitless sidetrack through Epernay to find a bottle of Pol Roger with Churchill's name on it. We have, however found the Ferrari (they seemed a bit jealous of the Slybeast's fin), some cop cars and we've established the Swiss flag is a confederacy flag, and it can't be long until we find a (Ramsay) Macdonald's?

We've noticed that we may have attached the fin on a little too enthusiastically (see pic) - seems to be holding. The oil light keeps coming on, which we think is the automatic gearbox, but nowhere sells any gearbox oil. Wing and a prayer, anyone?

Day 1: 0735: 101 miles: Calais

Here we are: about to leave our hotel. Another Merc has parked next to ours, and seem to have spent considerable more money on decals and a professional paint job (rather than gloss undercoat like us, hmmm). We have got the official rally decals applied and we're off to the start line shortly

.

Day 0: 1721 (local time) : 97 miles: Calais

We've arrived in France. Very quick, 30 minutes, so now it's off to the hotel and then to the rally check in tonight.

Day 0: 15.36: 67 miles: Folkestone

We are on the train!

Day 0: 15.25: 66 miles: Channel Tunnel

Team Sly Are Go!

Day 0: 13.34: 0 miles: Peckham

And we're off! After finishing off the mods to the car (see photos), we leave our farewell party behind and hit the open road. 65 miles to the Tunnel.