Taxi Fare? That'll Be $90,000

Last week, Old World met new as I cruised in a vintage British taxicab named Hannah down California's historic highway, El Camino Real.

How did I manage to thumb such an unusual ride?

Trying to break a record, of course.

I was the umpteenth passenger in a taxi ride around the world that aims to break a Guinness World Record. It all started when British college friends Paul Archer, 24, John Ellison, 28, and Leigh Purnell, 24, bought an old cab on EBay for $2,000 with the intention of logging the world's longest taxi ride by driving from London to Sydney, Australia.

They broke that record about six months ago, in Tibet, but they couldn't get enough of the road. 

So they picked up a sponsorship from GetTaxi, an app that lets people order cabs on their phones.

With Hannah recently shipped to North America, the trio plan to drive across the country to New York. The cab has picked up some new decorations along the way, including a snorkel, a roof rack and more comfortable seats.

The lads were kind enough to let me out of my fare, but a passenger stepping into their car unawares might have a heart attack looking at the meter. They've left it running their entire trip, and it now reads 57,000 pounds.

That's about $90,000. Not bad for a trip around the world.

Watch the video for a high-speed rendition of my ride down El Camino, round trip from the parking lot.