Gumball 3000: The world’s most extravagant car rally heads to the desert
The Gumball 3000 is one of the world's most exclusive, ostentatious and extravagant car rallies -- a road trip for celebrities and the wealthy that also raises money for youth charities.
Founded by British businessman and former racecar driver Maximillion Cooper, the event shares its name with "The Gumball Rally," a 1976 comedy film about an illicit US coast-to-coast race. It's been hosted by over 50 countries, touching locations as varied as New York, Ibiza, Bucharest, Mykonos, Istanbul, Shanghai and Osaka.
The inaugural run was held in 1999, starting from London, and was attended by celebrities including model Kate Moss and singer Kylie Minogue. "It was a vision back then," says Cooper, who was able to leverage his high-profile contacts from both the fashion and racing worlds, ...