A surge of entries through the summer means that just a handful of places remain on HERO's 15,000 mile (24,000km) Inca Trail through South America, still more than a year away.

Event boss John Brown's message to anyone waiting is not to delay - or they risk missing out on what promises to be the most talked-about classic rally of 2001, with 100 classic cars and 4x4s preparing to start the event in 14 months' time.

A candidate for the noblest and bravest entrant is Peter Scott, who auctioned off the co-driver's seat of his lovely lightweight Jaguar XK120 for £18,000 to a complete stranger! His aim is to raise a total of £30,000 for children's charities.

Pre-1950 entries include the impressive Chrysler Imperial Le Baron Roadster of Rüdi Müller; David Ayre plans to follow up his 1998 London - Cape Town run in his 1927 Lagonda, while Ernst-Jan Krudop's giant 14,500cc American La France Simplex from 1917 will be a real show-stopper. Among later classics, Renger Guliker may have a good idea in proposing a 1956 Chevy pick-up truck.

There is still a discount available against the price of an entry for anyone paying in full rather than opting for the instalment plan, and it is possible to follow the trail in a parallel non-competitive 4x4 adventure drive.

The Inca Trail starts from Rio de Janeiro on 7 October 2001, and runs through six South American countries*, running across the continent, through the high Andes to a height of more than 5,000 metres, south to Tierra del Fuego, and returning to Rio via Patagonia. More details from HERO (+44/0) 1886 833505 or e-mail [email protected].
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* The countries visited - some more than once in the course of the route - are Brazil, Argentina, Bolivia, Peru, Chile, and Uruguay.