In late 2015, filmmaker Kamil Piechowiak was asked to join a journey that would traverse over 14,000 miles — starting in Poland and ending on the east coast of Russia — in an old Fiat 126p. This car, nicknamed The Maluch (literally “the little one” or “the little guy” in Polish), became a cultural icon of Poland. Piechowiak was invited by adventurer and writer Arkady Paweł Fiedler, who had already driven the car across Poland and in Africa, and has plans for taking it around the world. From the Vimeo page, the filmmaker describes some of the challenges they faced along the way while filming the documentary Asia OnTheWay:
WATCH: Driving 14000 Miles to Asia in a 70s Era Car
Asia OnTheWay is consists of over 3 months on the road. It’s a 14,000+ mi drive from Puszczykowo (Poland) to Vladivostok (Russia). The Fiat 126p burned 253 gallons of gas while crossing Slovakia, Hungary, Serbia, Bulgaria, Turkey, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan (twice), Kyrgyzstan (twice), Tajikistan, Mongolia, and Russia (twice). The Maluch climbed 15,272 ft AMSL twice (the Ak-Baital Pass, Tajikistan). Its longest single day run was 308 mi in Kazakhstan. The shortest was 27 mi on the last day of the trip, in Russia. During the journey, The Maluch caught flat tire once. Among the replaced parts were: the starter, inductor (twice), ignition module, carburetor, master cylinder, oil (5x), 7 air filters, and 5 fuel filters. On top of that, while we were still in Poland, two connecting rods had to be replaced as well, because of a knocking in the engine. Still, the knocking proved to be a faithful companion along the entire journey. Moreover, somewhere in Wachau valley, Arkady had to straighten a clamp under the gearbox, that got bent on a stone.
The above video is a teaser for a series he is setting to release (6 to 8 30-minute episodes) in late 2017. 