For those that may have been following our Highway One to Hell’s group progress as they traversed the great Australian outback, we can announce that not only did they make it back Sunday morning safely and without incident, but they also set a new world record for a complete lap of Australia - at 5 days, 13 hours and 43 minutes.

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This beats the previous record attempt (Motor Magazine) of 6 days, 8 hours and 52 minutes, despite our team taking the full way around including the hardest stretch of Highway 1, while previous attempts have skipped inland direct to Mt Isa. The Highway 1 to hell team conquered the entire Australian landscape in a 2017 Toyota LandCruiser Sahara, purchased new. The big Toyota used 2284L of diesel and the team of four averaged 2600km per day over four six-hour shifts. The total distance for the trip, which left Brisbane last Monday night, was estimated at around 14,500km with the actual tally adding up to 14280km.

Speaking to CarAdvice upon his return tonight, the project’s brainchild, Jay Gordon, said he pursued the idea of setting a new record to prove it was possible. “I'm obsessed with these kinds of records and I thought I could beat it, but the more you talk about it, the more you realise there is only one way to prove it,” Gordon said. As for how the LandCruiser fared throughout the journey, Gordon said the car was only ever turned off for refuelling and the only issue that presented itself was an intermittent oil pressure light. Other than that the Toyota didn’t miss a beat. "Apart from the 10 times to be refuelled, we only turned it off once in Darwin for a bathroom break and live stream. All other stops were roadside and brief to change drivers or empty our bladder."

The other three members of the team consist of Daniel Gordon, Will and Todd Atwood. The team was sponsored by CarAdvice, Bridgestone, SOYT, AVA performance, XY Wealth Management, Entrepreneur Haus and XPEL protective films. Toyota Australia did not wish to participate in this record attempt. A full story of the event from beginning to end will be live on CarAdvice in the coming days, but for now, make sure you read how the journey came about here, plus the mid-trip update here. MORE: Highway 1 to Hell: Circumnavigating Australia in one week