SALESMAN David Coplestone is all geared up for an intrepid drive of a lifetime – and he will certainly stand out from the crowd.

David, 46, is preparing to travel 10,000 miles on the Mongol Rally 2013 from Basingstoke to Mongolia in a chrome-painted Nissan Micra.

David, from Preston Candover, will be travelling with his friend Rene Vanderveken, a Belgian from Burundi who lives in Barcelona.

He said: “The hardest part will be dealing with the sheer terrain. When we get to Kazakhstan and Mongolia, there are no roads – you are just on dirt tracks. Crossing the borders will be hard – the record for the longest wait has been 45 hours.”

The father-of-two said he became interested in the Mongol Rally five years ago, after hearing about it from a friend while sailing in Ireland.

He said a friend’s recent battle with cancer spurred him on to do the challenge, as he plans to raise money through sponsorship for Cancer Research UK.

David, who works for a software firm in Frimley, will start from Basingstoke, pick up his friend from an airport, and then head to Dover, where the race officially starts.

The planned route will take the duo through Europe, across Ukraine via Romania, into Russia, Kazakhstan and then on to Ulan Bator, the capital of Mongolia.

After buying the Nissan Micra, he had the car spray-painted chrome, which he said would make it stand out. The car has been modified to include steel wheels, van tyres, and a metal plate to protect the undercarriage.

To donate money to David’s charity challenge, visit justgiving.co.uk/David-Coplestone.