Ferrari has requested an entry in the Guinness Book of World records for a new achievement: altitude.
As part of a tour of China by two Ferrari F612 Scaglietti supercars, the Ferrari team claims it has been the first to drive a standard, road-registered 2WD car over the 5231m-high Tanggulashan Pass, in the mountains on the border between Tibet and China.
The front-engine V12-powered cars, driven by international journalists, have now crossed the Tibetan plateau -- one of the most isolated regions of the world -- with the cars being driven for thousands of kilometres at heights of more than 3000 metres, from Lhasa, Tibet's main city and the ancient home of the Dalai Lama.
The China Tour started on August 29 in Shanghai and now moves on to the Gobi Desert, passing through Kashi (Kaxgar), the most remote city in the world and home of the fabulous silk market which dates from the days of Marco Polo.