The 10th Annual Global Green ChallengeThe Global Green Challenge (a kind of spin off from the World Solar Challenge) in Australia is the place to be for alt-fuel vehicles of all kinds. It's a good snapshot of what is currently possible, and of where things are going in green(er) transportation. The latest record comes from a red 2008 Tesla Roadster: Simon Hackett and co-driver Emilis Prelgauskas drove 313 miles (501 km) on a single charge, something that no production EV has done before. And without the extra weight from a passenger, the record would probably have been few miles more...
Driving Like a Glider
About his technique, Simon Hackett said: "Emilis and I have decades of experience flying gliders competitively and we applied the same energy conservation techniques to our driving, with significant results! The car had about 3 miles of range left when the drive was completed. We travelled 501km on a single charge. Let that sink in for a minute."
To squeeze out the most out of the Roadster's battery, average speed was kept around 35 mph/55 kph. Above that speed, air resistance starts to require more energy to keep the car moving, reducing total range.
What was the previous record? It was set by another Tesla Roadster during the Rallye Monte Carlo d'Énergies Alternatives: 240.8 miles (387,6 km), with the car showing 38 miles (61 km) left on the battery.
The Tesla's 53 kWh lithium-ion battery was rated at 244 miles with the EPA's methodology.
Above: "The security seal was applied to the charge port door when we started the journey. As this is being done as part of the Global Green Challenge, we have a full set of official verifiers here who will attest to the results and to achieving the outcome. We were followed along the journey by our support crew and a documentary film crew - so we have it on film."
