Nottingham classic car honours Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman

In 2003, the Raven Brothers, young, under equipped, and fuelled by wanderlust, set off in a battered Ford Sierra to tackle the then-unfinished Trans-Siberian Highway from St. Petersburg to Vladivostok. Without GPS or a support crew, and with only very basic supplies, they chased the horizon with chaos and laughter as their compass.

Their epic journey, during a period in time before smartphones and social media had been invented, saw the plucky brothers successfully drive Russia’s Trans-Siberian Highway, a staggering eight years before the road was completed. With only very limited skills of wilderness survival and car mechanics, the brothers crossed ten time zones in their beat up saloon which in a former life called the streets of Nottingham home.

Driving through endless rivers and canyons in a bid to cross the notorious Zilov Gap in darkest Siberia, the hapless adventurers captured the true spirit of overland travel during a life-altering journey across one of the world’s last frontiers.

The result was a road trip as raw and unpredictable as the Russian wilderness itself. Their memoir, Driving the Trans-Siberian, became a cult favourite, blending absurdity, endurance and wide-eyed wonder with the kind of sibling mischief that turns disaster into story. When Long Way Round aired in 2004, the brothers instantly recognised a kindred spirit: McGregor and Boorman’s journey captured the same essence they had lived, connection, challenge and the unshakable thrill of the open road.

“Watching Long Way Round felt like seeing a cinematic version of what we had just experienced,” says Chris Raven. “It was slicker, more professional, but the spirit was the same.”

“Ewan and Charley achieved something extraordinary,” says Simon Raven. “They not only crossed Siberia — they pressed on to Alaska. That was a dream beyond our reach, and a huge achievement worthy of recognition.”

Now, as McGregor and Boorman continue their storytelling legacy with Long Way Up, Long Way Chat, and the anticipated Long Way Home, the Raven Brothers are relaunching Driving the Trans-Siberian, not as a rival tale, but as a grassroots companion. A tribute to adventure in its rawest, most unpredictable form.

As audiences gather in Nottingham to honour two icons of exploration, Driving the Trans-Siberian offers a salute from fans-and-fellow-travellers. It’s a reminder that whether you are on two wheels or four, in a convoy or entirely alone, the spirit of the long way lives wherever boldness and curiosity collide.

Driving the Trans-Siberian is available now in paperback and eBook via major retailers and independent bookshops.