Vancouver group completes 8,000-km road trip to the Arctic

A group of friends has completed an 8,000-kilometre road trip from Vancouver to the Arctic Circle, traveling to Tuktoyaktuk in the Northwest Territories to swim in the Arctic Ocean.

The journey involved six vehicles, including a 1986 Porsche 944, a 1991 Isuzu Impulse RS, a 1993 Nissan 240SX, a 1989 Toyota MR2 Supercharged, a 1990 Mazda Miata, and a 1994 Dodge B350. The trip tested the mechanical limits of these older models, particularly while traversing the unpaved 740-kilometre Dempster Highway.

During the expedition, Jaden Konishi’s Porsche suffered a clutch failure in Yukon’s Tombstone Territorial Park. Because the part required engine removal to replace, Konishi had to complete the return journey by using the starter motor to move the car and “floating” the gears to shift without a clutch.