Mercedes-Benz has arranged a virtual Road Trip for a real prize. To promote its new seven-seater GL-Class, the automaker has launched an online tour across eight countries, inviting UK customers to join in at any phase of the experience for a chance to win a safari holiday for two in South Africa.

The tour that is rolling out on a microsite May 24–June 12 is all-virtual, though it seems that there’s a real car riding from city to city as the destination provides a map with the route, miles “travelled” for far, average speed as well as hours and miles left to the next city. Users are invited to connect via Facebook and start answering multiple-choice questions about the car or its location at milestone cities each day during the trip, gathering partner codes and picking up bonus points along the way.

This helps the participants gain a position on the leaderboard based on the number of points they accumulate and the time their answers take. The winners of the “stops” get a seat in the virtual car. So far, two seats have been already occupied in Barcelona and Medinine. After the seat gets claimed, the leaderboard clears and participants get a new equal opportunity to win one. The answer to the final question will be related to an action film featured in the bottom of the site and will allow to get the “Wildcard” seventh seat. Each of the seat winners will get an off-road 4×4 experience at Mercedes-Benz World.

The winner of the contest will be determined at the knockout phase. For six days starting June 7, the seven seat winners will go head-to-head to answer six questions. A seat winner will be eliminated at each of the milestones, and the final winner, who remains in their seat after the knockout, will be named the grand prize winner.

The virtual road trip theme coupled with different messages has been employed by an array of auto brands. These initiatives include the eco-focused ‘Think Blue.’ Road Trip by Volkswagen, fun-inspired Renault’s global tour with Ubisoft’s Raving Rabbids and many more.