If you fancy popping down to the Lenham Cafe on 1 January to help celebrate its 60th birthday, then this Maestro 1600 will be among the cars dropping by en route to Africa. It is being driven on the London to Cape Town World Cup Rally by Jane Edgington and Gill Cotton, who will be driving it the length of Africa – that's 10,000 miles in 27 days of driving.

Jane has driven some 300 club rallies, and Gill has navigated rally cars for several years and won outright the World Cup Rally Athens in 2002 in a Peugeot 205. With lots of hot-hatch experience behind them, they have opted for the Maestro to carry them half way across the world in one of the most adventurous rally-routes ever conceived. Organised by the Endurance Rally Association, the route takes in a crossing of Europe after starting out from the Houses of Parliament, to the bottom of Greece, then crosses the Mediterranean to Egypt by ferry, and then down the eastern-side of Africa, with Kenya's northern desert providing the roughest and hardest part of the course.

Desert trails in Sudan, Ethiopia, the Great Rift Valley, and muddy jungle tracks in Tanzania and Zambia, form part of the course to be tackled by 44 cars, from 10 different nations. The entry list is mostly classic cars, and the Maestro is among the smallest cars in the field. 'It's gutsy, simple and fun to drive,' says Jane. 'Its got eight inches of suspension travel at the back, to soak up the bumps.'

The car has been rally-prepared by Tony Fowkes Autos in Park Royal, London. Tony is a former Mercedes Safari Rally driver who finished second on the 1977 London to Sydney. 'I've enjoyed building this MG,' he said. 'The Maestro was essential in keeping the MG brand alive, but it is a rather overlooked part of MG history. This could be the Maestro's best result ever if the girls do well.'

You can follow their progress on www.girlsacrossafrica.com, and also www.londoncapetownrally.com. There are also three other MGs in the rally – all MG ZRs, built by the Rover Centre at St. Albans. One of them will be driven by Owen Turner, who has won several British championships.