Land Rover LR4s successfully cross America off-road

Land Rover Expedition America has just wrapped up its month-long trek across the United States, almost all of it off-road. A team of three Land Rover LR4s covered 4,000-plus miles from Asheville, N.C., to the Oregon coast, following an off-road route called the Trans-America Trail charted by motorcycle legend Sam Correro in the 1990s. No other production car is known to have ever completed this journey.

The team was led by Camel Trophy veteran Tom Collins, who used Correro's map and the Land Rover's standard navigation system to lead the expedition across the country. The Trans-America Trail consists of forest roads, farm roads, and other off-road routes, stretching all the way to the Pacific Northwest.

Some of the biggest challenges of the trip came during the last third of the journey. The expedition had to navigate flash floods in New Mexico and Utah, and forest fires in Oregon. The forest fires alone required a half-day detour, and the team had to chart out all new routes along unpaved trails in order to avoid them. But some of the toughest natural terrain that the Land Rovers had to tackle was undoubtedly in Colorado, when the trucks were crossing the Rocky Mountains.

"It's just incredible that Sam's 30 years of research and thousands of miles traveled has allowed us to do this journey. I hope our journey highlights what an amazing job he has done and brings the Trans-America Trail to a new audience," Collins said upon the completion of the expedition.

By Jay Ramey