Mercedes-Benz Trucks sets world record for reverse driving

Guinness World Record Mercedes-Benz Trucks Sets World Record for Reverse Driving

2025-06-25 From Thomas Günnel | Translated by AI 1 min Reading Time

Related Vendors

Nearly six and a half hours of reversing with a truck and trailer: For this feat, Mercedes-Benz Truck received an entry in the Guinness Book of Records.

Through 476 turns, Marco Hellgrewe drove in reverse on the Motorsport Arena Oschersleben race track with the E-Actros 600 for the entry in the Guinness Book of Records.(Image: Daimler Truck AG) — Through 476 turns, Marco Hellgrewe drove in reverse on the Motorsport Arena Oschersleben race track with the E-Actros 600 for the entry in the Guinness Book of Records.
(Image: Daimler Truck AG)

It is a marketing stunt and an impressive driving achievement: Mercedes-Benz Trucks set a new Guinness World Record at the beginning of June. Marco Hellgrewe drove 124.7 kilometers (approx. 77.5 miles) in reverse with an E-Actros 600 and trailer. The record-breaking reverse drive at the Motorsport Arena Oschersleben racetrack in Saxony-Anhalt lasted six hours and 22 minutes. The average speed was around 20 kilometers per hour (approx. 12 mph).

In total, Hellgrewe, who came up with the idea for the record drive, navigated through 476 turns. He surpassed his own reverse driving record from 2008. Back then, it was 64 kilometers (approx. 40 miles) with a diesel truck. The previous world record was 89 kilometers (approx. 55 miles) of continuous reverse driving. It was set in 2020 in the USA with a diesel truck.

Campaign for E-Mobility and Driver Image

Officially, Mercedes-Benz Truck aims to draw attention to relevant issues for the transport industry and society with the reverse driving: electrification, traffic safety, and truck driver image. Incidentally, the campaign is a memorable advertisement for the all-electric long-haul truck that Mercedes-Benz Trucks has been mass-producing since the end of November 2024.

Marco Hellgrewe during the record drive. It lasted nearly six and a half hours.(Image: Daimler Truck AG) — Marco Hellgrewe during the record drive. It lasted nearly six and a half hours.
(Image: Daimler Truck AG)

"Driving in reverse is an essential part of the everyday work of truck drivers, and Marco Hellgrewe has clearly shown the world that a lot of concentration and skill are needed for this. Drivers do great things for society every day, and this must be duly recognized, especially in light of the increasing driver shortage," commented Rainer Müller-Finkeldei, Head of Mercedes-Benz Trucks Product Engineering, on the record drive. "We thank our partner Profi—Pro Fahrer-Image e.V. for supporting our action and their commitment to enhancing the appreciation of the driving profession."

Subscribe to the newsletter now

Don't Miss out on Our Best Content

Business E-mail

Please enter a valid mailadress.

By clicking on „Subscribe to Newsletter“ I agree to the processing and use of my data according to the consent form (please expand for details) and accept the Terms of Use. For more information, please see our Privacy Policy. The consent declaration relates, among other things, to the sending of editorial newsletters by email and to data matching for marketing purposes with selected advertising partners (e.g., LinkedIn, Google, Meta)

Date: 08.12.2025

Naturally, we always handle your personal data responsibly. Any personal data we receive from you is processed in accordance with applicable data protection legislation. For detailed information please see our privacy policy.

Consent to the use of data for promotional purposes

I hereby consent to Vogel Communications Group GmbH & Co. KG, Max-Planck-Str. 7-9, 97082 Würzburg including any affiliated companies according to §§ 15 et seq. AktG (hereafter: Vogel Communications Group) using my e-mail address to send editorial newsletters. A list of all affiliated companies can be found here

Newsletter content may include all products and services of any companies mentioned above, including for example specialist journals and books, events and fairs as well as event-related products and services, print and digital media offers and services such as additional (editorial) newsletters, raffles, lead campaigns, market research both online and offline, specialist webportals and e-learning offers. In case my personal telephone number has also been collected, it may be used for offers of aforementioned products, for services of the companies mentioned above, and market research purposes.

Additionally, my consent also includes the processing of my email address and telephone number for data matching for marketing purposes with select advertising partners such as LinkedIn, Google, and Meta. For this, Vogel Communications Group may transmit said data in hashed form to the advertising partners who then use said data to determine whether I am also a member of the mentioned advertising partner portals. Vogel Communications Group uses this feature for the purposes of re-targeting (up-selling, cross-selling, and customer loyalty), generating so-called look-alike audiences for acquisition of new customers, and as basis for exclusion for on-going advertising campaigns. Further information can be found in section “data matching for marketing purposes”.

In case I access protected data on Internet portals of Vogel Communications Group including any affiliated companies according to §§ 15 et seq. AktG, I need to provide further data in order to register for the access to such content. In return for this free access to editorial content, my data may be used in accordance with this consent for the purposes stated here. This does not apply to data matching for marketing purposes.

Right of revocation

I understand that I can revoke my consent at will. My revocation does not change the lawfulness of data processing that was conducted based on my consent leading up to my revocation. One option to declare my revocation is to use the contact form found at https://contact.vogel.de. In case I no longer wish to receive certain newsletters, I have subscribed to, I can also click on the unsubscribe link included at the end of a newsletter. Further information regarding my right of revocation and the implementation of it as well as the consequences of my revocation can be found in the data protection declaration, section editorial newsletter.