CASPER
THE FRIENDLY GHOST
The Tesla Roadster has set a new distance record for a production electric vehicle by traveling 313 miles (501km) on a single charge. The milestone took place during the 2009 Global Green Challenge in Australia where eco-friendly vehicles have been battling it out over a formidable 1800 mile course. The distance achieved is well above the 244 mile range Tesla quotes in its specs... and on top of that, the sportscar reportedly had 3 miles worth of charge left in its batteries when it finished the record breaking run.
The car was driven by Simon Hackett, managing director of Australian national broadband company Internode, along with co-driver Emilis Prelgauskas.
Hackett owns the only Tesla Roadster currently in Australia and he now owns a world record as well, having smashed the previous mark of 241-miles set (also in a Roadster) by Rallye Monte Carlo d'Energies Alternatives in April this year.
The run was fully supervised and the charge port sealed by event officials who are expected to fully accredit the record soon.
"We wanted to prove a point about the ability of EVs to drive truly large distances - and we have done so," said Hackett. This ends any contention that EVs aren't practical cars. They're more than that - they are the future of motoring."
Another milestone to emerge from the Eco Challenge event was the performance of the Deep Green Research modified Honda electric vehicle. The vehicle achieved an endurance run of 244 miles (360km) that equated to 85 watt hours per kilometer. A spokesperson for the Queensland Deep Green Research team said this distance made the vehicle "the most energy efficient in the event" and "the most efficient road registered vehicle in Australia and possibly in the world by vehicle weight".