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By gum, have a ball!
Here's a novel idea that two boys from Britain came up with. Two Sussex students are hoping to set a record for economy in the inaugural Student Gumball Rally, which has set out from Dover for Croatia on 3 September.
The two students Ben (20) and Max (18) Constanduros from Heyshott, near Midhurst, are driving a Toyota Prius, the world's leading hybrid car with perfect student economy of around 65 mpg.
They are to be a part of an entry of 150 teams, 500 students, driving 1500 miles from the UK through Eastern Europe in just six days - although there will be the obligatory party every evening in order to de-stress!
Gumball rallies have earned a reputation for excess - excessive speed, fuel consumption, partying and cost. However, the student event is expected to be a somewhat milder version. Cars are restricted to two litres - less a deafening roar, more a polite wheeze.
The brothers' team Prius has been specially liveried to Max's design in Toyota's red and white colours, with a strip of green in order to highlight its green credentials.
The brothers have been working at various jobs in order to be able to fund the trip - rather than rely on their student loans! Max has worked as a waiter, while Ben has been working at a television production company, where he has `voiced' a number of motor sport programmes. He is a regular presenter of Motors TV's Ultimate Kart challenge. The brothers also plan to make a film of their event, highlighting the Prius's cool image.
Ben, being the older one, has the greater driving experience, including five years of kart racing, latterly at national level. Max, however, is the one with limited experience. "I'm just going to go where my brother tells me," he says.
The rally, which supports the Teenage Cancer Trust, starts from Dover on Sunday and heads through France, Belgium and Germany to Cologne where they are scheduled for the first stop, home of Toyota's Formula One team. Day two (Monday) sees them head to Prague in the Czech Republic. From there they go to Budapest in Hungary, followed by Zagreb in Croatia. The rally is going to end with a 24-hour beach party along the Croatian coast.
"Then comes the biggest challenge," says Max. "How to get home!"
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