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With his circumnavigation of the globe in a natural gas-powered car, Rainer Zietlow achieved his second record recognized by Guinness World Records™. Rainer Zietlow, photographer Franz Janusiewicz, mechanic Florian Hilpert and cameraman Falk Gunold were the first to drive once around the globe in a completely natural gas-powered vehicle, a Volkswagen Caddy EcoFuel. The tour started on October 23, 2006, in Hannover, Germany. The team headed east, crossing five continents and 75 cities in 40 countries.

There was a good gas supply in Egypt, Iran, Pakistan, India and Thailand, where company cars and cabs must run on gas. There was an excellent network of natural gas stations in Argentina and Brazil, and it was also fairly well developed in some states in the U.S. Crossing Australia was only possible thanks to a private filling station for forklifts.

The standard commercial vehicle was equipped with several auxiliary tanks and had a range of about 3,000 kilometers. A fuel tank, which was included in the standard vehicle, was sealed in advance.

On April 13, 2007, after 45,000 kilometers, the record drive ended at the Leipzig Automotive Fair. For every kilometer driven, Rainer Zietlow donated 10 euro cents to a branch of the aid organization SOS Children’s Village in Bangalore, India, which he had visited during his tour.