LONDON – May 31, 2013: To celebrate its 40th birthday, Lonely Planet has sent two travel writers from Lonely Planet Travellermagazine in a MINI Cooper D Clubman from London to Istanbul on the first leg of an epic 10,000 mile journey across Europe, Asia and Australasia. The trip celebrates the seminal trip from London to Sydney made by Lonely Planet co-founders Tony and Maureen Wheeler, which also began in a classic Minivan and led to the publication of their first guidebook, Across Asia on the Cheap, published in 1973. The book’s success led to the start of the iconic travel publisher Lonely Planet. The Wheelers paid just £60 for their ten year old Morris Mini Traveller, which they drove from London to Kabul in 1972. It had a top speed of 70mph and with its timber option would have cost £552 new. The 2013 MINI Cooper D Clubman, which the Lonely Planetteam are driving from London to Istanbul, has a top speed of 122mph, a 1.6 litre engine putting out 112bhp and an average fuel consumption of 72mpg. Full article at - Lonely Planet Teams Up With Mini For Start Of A 40th Anniversary Epic Adventure