Navigon will provide its new Navigon 7100 series navigation devices to steer teams across the finish line in the first-ever Navigator's Run, a 3,000-mile cross-country motoring event for high-end performance, sports, luxury and exotic cars.

Armed with the Navigon 7100 device, 100 teams in high-performance cars -- from a $500,000 Lamborghini Murcielago LP640 to a Mitsubishi Evo VIII -- will test their endurance-driving skills and their ability to find the shortest and most effective route through this cross-country rally. It's not the fastest team that wins, but the driver and navigator who demonstrate the best navigational skills by accruing the fewest Miles to reach the finish line. These sport-rally contestants will be the first U.S. consumers to use the Navigon 7100, a super-sleek, easy-to-use navigation device packed with premium features such as subscription-free traffic and Zagat Survey ratings and reviews.

Navigator's Run will start from Kansas City, Kan., on Sunday, June 18, and journey through Denver; Las Vegas; Santa Fe, N.M.; and Dallas before arriving in Wichita, Kan., on June 22.

Navigon has been a worldwide leader in navigation since 1991 as the inventor of the world's first mobile GPS software and the creator of the award-winning MobileNavigator software used by some of the world's best-known consumer electronics brands. The Navigon 7100's debut marks North American consumers' first opportunity to touch, view and operate the company's leading-edge technology in a device bearing the trusted Navigon name.

"Navigator's Run gives car lovers a chance to show off their goods, but victory -- and the $50,000 prize -- will go to the team that exemplifies smart, direction-conscious driving," said Navigator's Run creator Mike Beauchamp. "As a highly respected global leader in personal navigation, Navigon is the best and highest quality tool to help our participants compete for the most direct route to the Navigator's Run finish line."

The Navigon 7100 offers a host of best-in-class features to help competitors along the way, including:

  -- Clear voice guidance with spoken street names
  -- Stress-busting features like Lane Assistant and Reality View that
     actively guide users and provide photo-realistic images of complex
     intersections
  -- Subscription-free real-time traffic information that works out of the
     box
  -- Information on more than 6.5 million points of interest, plus Zagat-
     rated restaurants, hotels, nightclubs, and more on the route-allowing
     contestants to enjoy the cross-country drive to the fullest
  -- Bluetooth(R) wireless technology for easy, hands-free calling

"As a company dedicated to redefining the navigation experience, Navigon is excited to make our North American consumer product debut at Navigator's Run," said Andreas Hecht, Navigon's general manager for the Americas. "Helping these participants reach the finish line gives us a tremendous platform to show just how intuitive and full-featured our devices are."

The Navigon 7100 features a widescreen 4.3-inch display housed in sleek piano-black hardware. It will be available at select retail outlets across North America and online beginning in late July. It will debut alongside its sister unit, the Navigon 5100, which features a more portable yet, 3.5-inch display in slim chrome housing.