Video: Honda vs the Volcano

It took HMS Albion 30 hours to repatriate stranded Brits from Spain when the ash cloud descended a few weeks ago. So MCN’s sister magazine CAR set out to see if they could make it in less time – using only Honda bikes, quads, cars, hybrids and a strange single-seater.   

• Read the CAR story 

The first seven hours from Santander to the Pyrenees are spent on a Honda VFR1200. CAR’s Mark Walton is a biker as well as a driver, and makes full use of the V4’s 170.3 bhp as he closes in on its 160mph top whack. Walton then heads across the mountains on the Honda Fourtrax TRX420FA quad bike, switches to the new Honda CR-Z hybrid coupé to descend the Pyrenees and crosses France in the new Type-R on a budget, Honda Civic Si hatchback.

Walton jumps on a Ribcraft 9.0 racing speed boat to skim across the Channel in record time. And that Honda single seater? You’ll have to watch the video below. Find out how the adventure ends and if CAR magazine beat the 30 hour deadline.