Heidi Hetzer – Traveling Around the World in a 1930s Hudson at Age 77

At 77, many people buy themselves a more comfortable TV chair. Heidi Hetzer bought a 1930 Hudson and drove it around the world.

From Berlin through Turkey, Iran, Central Asia, China, Southeast Asia, Australia, New Zealand, North America, South America, and Africa, before returning to Berlin nearly three years later. Around the world. In a car that was almost as old as she was.

That sounds like one of those campfire stories where at some point someone asks if it’s really true.

The idea didn’t come out of nowhere. Heidi wanted to follow in the footsteps of Clärenore Stinnes, who, between 1927 and 1929, became the first woman to drive around the world. Almost ninety years later, she wanted to experience for herself what such a journey meant. But what began as a tribute to a great pioneer quickly took on a life of its own. Because anyone who reduces Heidi Hetzer to just this journey misses the real point. The Hudson was never the story. The story was Heidi.

A girl who became an auto mechanic in the 1950s, when women in garages were still a rarity. A young woman who suddenly had to take on responsibility after her father’s death in the late 1960s. For a company, for employees, for customers, and for a future that no one could guarantee. An entrepreneur who made her mark in an industry that was almost exclusively male-dominated at the time. A woman who, over decades, makes decisions, takes risks, weathered crises, and earned respect. Not through grand words, but through hard work. A rally driver. A Berlin tough cookie. Someone who learned that problems rarely go away just because you talk about them long enough.

There’s one detail that’s only mentioned in passing in many reports, but it says a surprising amount about Heidi Hetzer.

The trip was not originally planned as a solo project at all. Time and again, she sought companions for individual stages or even for the entire route. Journalists, photographers, technicians, classic car enthusiasts, and adventurers came forward. Some accompanied her for a few days, others for several weeks or months. Patrik Heinrichs, in particular, played an important role at the beginning. He worked on classic cars, handled the technical aspects, and documented the journey with reports and photos. The early blog entries remain among the most detailed and vivid of the entire round-the-world trip.

But the collaboration didn’t last. In Uzbekistan, Heidi and Patrik went their separate ways. After that, the reporting became much less frequent, and the journey changed in character. Friends, acquaintances, or local helpers would occasionally join her for individual stretches. For long stretches, however, Heidi traveled alone. Thus, a journey that had originally begun as a team project gradually became Heidi’s very own personal journey. In the end, what remained was something that suited Heidi better than any plan: a woman, an old Hudson, and the world out there.

Of course Heidi Hetzer is traveling around the world at 77. If you know her life story, anything else would have been more surprising.

What’s fascinating about Heidi, then, isn’t even the journey itself, but the fact that she apparently never stopped taking an interest in life. Sounds trite? It isn’t, though. Many people become more cautious as they get older. They know more, have experienced more, are aware of the risks, and come up with good reasons not to do things. Experience offers protection. With Heidi, one sometimes had the feeling that her life experience had exactly the opposite effect. She knew…

• that people get sick.
• that plans fail.
• that engines break down.
• that you can be disappointed.

She knew all this not in theory, but from her own experience. And yet that curiosity remained. Perhaps even precisely because of that.

Anyone familiar with overlanding today thinks of perfectly outfitted vehicles. In 2014, Heidi set off in a 1930 Hudson Great Eight, which she named Hudo. The car had charm, character, and a distinct tendency to break down exactly when you needed it the least.

In fact, the journey began with difficulties right from the start. The grand launch in Berlin was accompanied by cameras, interviews, and a lot of attention. Shortly thereafter, Hudo was back in the shop. Engine problems, technical defects, and a passenger who dropped out before the actual adventure even began nearly caused the trip to fail before it had really started.

And that’s exactly what runs like a common thread through the following years. In Uzbekistan, the engine was taken apart. In Kazakhstan, the original plans fell apart. Visas expired. Routes had to be rethought. In North America, Hudo broke down, of all places, on the border strip between Canada and the U.S. Later, Heidi seriously injured her hand in a workshop accident. Even harder to bear was the cancer diagnosis she received during the trip. More than once, it seemed more sensible to head home.

When you look at her story, the journey seems less like an adventure and more like the logical continuation of a life that was always looking forward. She had long since proven that she could lead companies. She had earned respect. She had achieved financial success. No one could have blamed her if she had spent her days between classic car events, lectures, and fond memories. Instead, she chose uncertainty. Border crossings. Garages. Sleepless nights. For a 1930 Hudson. For the possibility of failure.

Anyone who reads her old reports will discover something else amid the engine breakdowns, border crossings, and workshop stories. People appear almost everywhere. Strangers who help. Mechanics who improvise. Families who open their doors. Classic car enthusiasts who organize spare parts. Perhaps Heidi was able to experience these encounters so intensely precisely because she no longer had to prove anything to anyone.

More than once, it seemed as though the journey had come to an end. The engine broke down. The route was blocked. A cancer diagnosis. And yet, she kept going. Heidi paused her journey, underwent treatment in Germany, and then returned to the road.

When Heidi Hetzer returned to Berlin in March 2017, many people felt that a great adventurer was coming home. That’s probably true. But a woman who had remained curious her entire life was also coming home. A woman who, at 77, still behaved like someone who didn’t view life as a finished story, but as something that still holds surprises.

A woman who bought a 1930 Hudson and decided to drive it around the world. And simply did it.

One Life. Live it.

Heidi Hetzer Profile

• Born: June 20, 1937, in Berlin
• Died: April 21, 2019, in Berlin
• Automotive Mechanic
• Took over and expanded the family business, Opel Hetzer, in Berlin
• One of the most well-known female entrepreneurs in the German automotive industry
• Numerous rally and classic car events
• Circumnavigation of the globe 2014–2017 in the footsteps of Clärenore Stinnes
• Vehicle used for the trip: 1930 Hudson Great Eight
• Duration of the trip: July 2014 to March 2017
• Age at the start: 77 years

What people said about Heidi Hetzer:

“She was an extraordinary woman.” — Christian Reuter

“Heidi was a great role model for us. Her courage and drive have inspired us time and again.” — Uwe Richter

“You can live your own dream, and you’re never too old for it.” — Marimar

“It’s rare to find a woman with so much entrepreneurial spirit, courage, and energy.” — Thomas

“Her courage and zest for life will never be forgotten.” — Ronny Schultz

“She would have been one of those eternal heroes whom I would have wished to live to be 100.” — Christian Witt

“She was full of drive, bursting with joie de vivre and optimism.” — Claudia Bröll

“Heidi Hetzer is the Bertha Benz of our time—a world-class automotive ambassador.” — Johannes Hübner