For most road trippers circumnavigating Australia would be a journey of months, maybe even years. John Mahoney did it less than a week. Non stop.

From the hutongs of Beijing to the majesty of the Great Wall, driving in China is a culture shock for Gavin Conway.

How many European countries can you drive through in a 24 hours? Simon Heptinstall once managed an even dozen.

The Toyota GR Yaris on the epic route of the 1993 Network Q RAC rally along the finest roads England, Wales and Scotland have to offer – strap in!

Gavin Green took a Range Rover on an ancient frankincense trail to Oman’s Empty Quarter in search of a lost city. A camel may well have been a better choice.

British Land Speed Record history runs deep at Pendine Sands. It was here that Malcom Campbell broke the 150mph barrier, although visitors today may find they can’t drive quite as quickly.

At one turn Cape Breton Island will do a very passable impression of a southern California coastline, at another, you’d swear the west of Scotland has cut loose and floated across the Atlantic, reckons Gavin Conway.

Shimmering heat haze, mesmerising mirages and an endless vanishing point are just some of the distractions of desert driving. Could you handle these hot, lonely drives?

Thought Arizona was all arid vanishing-point desert roads? Dan Trent goes off-piste to discover a hillier, twistier side…

Speed freaks and velocity-raptors of the globe, welcome to the world’s fastest roads.

Cutting a path parallel to the Indian-Pacific railway, Gavin Conway explores the vast emptiness of Australia’s Nullarbor Plain as he drives from Perth to Sydney.

The Swiss are spoilt for choice when it comes to amazing mountain roads. Start with the Oberalp Pass and you can easily tackle a quartet of challenging drives in a single day.

Following in the wheeltracks of the Ice Road Truckers, Gavin Conway tackles one of the most extreme drives on the planet: the Yukon’s Dempster Highway.

Statistics say most accidents take place close to home, but it’s not the local high street that gives us palpitations. It’s the perilous drops and narrow paths of the world’s most dangerous roads.

The Gatescarth Pass is a proper 4x4 adventure in the heart of the stunning Lake District – just make sure you plan ahead and read the small print first, says Dan Trent.

Claude Lelouch’s dawn dash across Paris has become movie and automotive legend. Gavin Conway attempted the devil-may-care drive himself.

Beyond the honky-tonks of Music City – Nashville, Tennessee – a 444-mile ‘Recreational Road’ traces 10,000 years of American history, and the diverse soundtracks of the South, says Peter Grunert.

A drive through Japan’s frozen north is a journey that’s alternately zen-like in its tranquil beauty and treacherously terrifying.

Breathless tales of supercars flat-out across Europe were a rite of passage for motoring journalists back in the day. Dan Trent enjoys a swift trip to Bologna by Lamborghini for his own take.

Don’t let the giant potholes and self-taught drivers put you off. A road trip across Georgia can be a breathtaking adventure of unspolit scenery and welcoming locals, says Zoe Whittaker.