Mazda’s all-new Mazda3 gets set for a 15,000km trip from Japan to Germany

The latest car to join the Mazda family is the all-new Mazda3 and to prove just how good their new motor is, eight Mazda3’s will drive halfway around the world and you can follow their every move...

The 65th IAA International Motor Show takes place in Frankfurt from September 12 to September 20, and while the event itself is still over a month away the lads from Mazda are already getting set to show up in style. That’s because Mazda is supplying eight of its new compact hatchbacks for a rather unconventional test drive – 15,000km direct from the factory in Hiroshima all the way to Frankfurt. In fairness, it’s pretty cool, but they’d want to make sure nothing happens to the cars while they’re on route. They certainly wouldn’t want to roll up to Frankfurt a car short... The “Mazda Route3 – Hiroshima to Frankfurt Challenger Tour 2013” spans nine time zones, traversing Russia, the world’s largest country, before crossing Belarus and Poland. The cars will arrive in Frankfurt on 7 September, right before the IAA motor show opens its doors. You can follow all the action and find out more about the car over on http://www.mazda.ie/mazdaroute3. Don’t forget to check out how JOE’s Oisín Collins got on at the Mazda3 press launch in London last month (see here). It's not the first time that Mazda has taken the epic 15,000km journey. Here's a video showing the two previous efforts along with a map of the route the Mazda3's will be taking: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5fNM2hnbSgE