The incredible journey

In the spring of 1961, Stan Mott left New York City to drive around the world. Three years, four months and a single day later, he arrived back having visited 29 countries and covered 38,000 miles. His machine? It was neither a Volkswagen van nor a Triumph motorcycle. Instead Mott circumnavigated the globe on a go-kart towing a home-made plywood trailer. And this is his story.

Mott first came to prominence as a designer at General Motors under the legendary Harley Earl, and then a cartoonist whose work appeared regularly in Road & Track and Car magazines.

That’s how I first came to know about Mott. He sounded interesting not just because his work was brilliant, but also because he lived for over 10 years on a Turkish barque in Europe – that sort of alternative lifestyle has always appealed. Then one day I bought a book called Going Karting by Alan Burgess and in the chapter headed Other Uses for Karts was the story of Mott’s odyssey.