An adventure in close contact with nature in one of Tuscany’s most beautiful areas. Eight young men with disabilities, on board the iconic Jeep® Wrangler and the multi-award-winning Jeep Renegade.
September 2015: the “Jeep Off-Road 2015” event, organised by FCA through its Autonomy Program, has provided an unforgettable experience. Thanks also goes to the Jeep® brand and to the Mirafiori Motor Village in Turin which loaned four models of the iconic Wrangler and two versions of the multi-award-winning Renegade.
For a whole week the six Jeep vehicles transported eight young men with disabilities on an adventure in close contact with uncontaminated nature, in one of the most inspiring parts of Tuscany: the Maremma Natural Park. This magnificent park was founded in 1975, and within its 100 square kilometres contains a wide variety of natural landscapes: woodland hillsides, Mediterranean maquis, sandy or cliff-lined coastlines and inland plains populated by herds of wild horses.
The eight young participants explored these spectacular settings and tackled the challenges of setting up camp, sleeping in tents and eating around camp fires, all in the simplest ways possible but without physical risk. In other words, they lived an amazing outdoor experience, together with the team from Freewhite (the amateur sports association from Sestriere, with which Autonomy has been collaborating since 2007) and Asso Xdrive (on- and off-road driving techniques), who drove the six Jeep vehicles through various terrains encountered.
The Renegade and Wrangler models involved in the “Jeep Off Road 2015” event are best-in-class in their respective categories in terms of performance, efficiency and off-road capability and demonstrated that the most difficult driving challenges are there to be overcome. In this sense, they symbolise the same determination that drove the eight young men to overcome challenges and prejudices, demonstrating that different are the abilities, not the situations, because everyone shares the same drive to overcome all obstacles.
A short film was also shot during the week, interviewing the participants and encouraging them to describe their impressions of the unprecedented adventure they were experiencing. Their conviction and courage came across so strongly that they have become the most authentic Jeep testimonials. You can watch the video on the YouTube channel and on the Autonomy website.
The event in Tuscany also featured contributions from several important partners: Ferrino, the long-established Turin-based manufacturer of camping and excursionist gear, and Coloplast, a world leader in products and services designed to make life easier for people with different kinds of disabilities.
It is also worth underlining that “Jeep Off Road 2015” is a natural evolution of the Autonomy project called “Off-Road on the Olympic and Paralympic Mountains”. This project has been running for the last three years, offering groups of young people with disabilities the possibility to engage with nature in the place where the 1997 Alpine World Ski Championships took place, as well as some races in the Turin Winter Olympics and Paralympics of 2006.
