Expedition specialists Max Adventure plans to recreate an historic motoring exploit by driving from Oslo, Norway to Lisbon, Portugal in just five days. Only, this time the feat will be carried out in a Kia EV6 electric vehicle (EV).
The 3,600 mile (5633km) ‘Driven To Extremes Euro EV Marathon’ will pit the electric vehicle against the clock, visiting 15 countries in just 120 hours. The team will make the most of the Kia EV6’s impressive range and 800V rapid-charging technology to complete the epic adventure.
With the support of Kia UK, the team will start the drive on September 5 and aim to arrive in Lisbon on World EV Day on September 9. World EV Day is the brainchild of Ade Thomas and his team at Green.TV, who also deliver the hugely successful EV Summit.
In 2021, World EV Day saw over 300 million Twitter impressions. It has also become LinkedIn’s fourth most visited channel for those interested in sustainability.
It also saw engagement from some of the most important establishments around the globe. These included the White House in the USA, and both 10 Downing Street and the House of Commons in 2021.
Inspired by an endurance test completed by Sir Stirling Moss 70 years ago, the ‘Driven to Extremes Euro EV Marathon’ is understood to be the first time the route has been attempted in a fully electric vehicle as a continuous trip.
The team has once again opted to use the Kia EV6 electric crossover, having recently used the car to complete the first ‘Fen to Fell’ drive in an EV, a 209-mile (336km) route from Britain’s lowest to highest roads. The first time any vehicle has tackled the route, this was completed on a single charge with an indicated remaining range of 107 miles (172km).
The ‘Driven to Extremes Euro EV Marathon’ draws on the adventure undertaken by Stirling Moss in 1952. Carried out as a publicity stunt to promote the then-new Humber Super Snipe 4-door saloon, the legendary racing driver, along with three of his ‘fast friends’, visited 15 European countries in less than five days.
The 2022 challenge gives that journey a modern perspective and helps to showcase and promote driving electric cars. Plus, it will end on World EV Day when the adventure concludes September 9.
The challenge, travelling from Oslo to Lisbon, will involve driving roughly 200-mile (322km) legs at a time using Europe’s public charging network throughout. The Kia EV6 ‘Air’ is the partner for the Driven To Extremes team to tackle the 3,600-mile (5633km) marathon thanks to its range of 328 miles (528km) from a single charge. With its spacious cabin and long wheelbase, the car will provide comfort during this 120-hour drive.
Plus, its 800V ultra-rapid charging technology will keep pit stops to a minimum. The EV6 is capable of taking the battery from 10 to 80 percent in just 18 minutes when using a 350kW charger, or from 10 to 80 percent in 1 hour 13 minutes using a 50kW charger. This will allow the team to pick optimal stopping points along the way.
To ensure the team has the best possible chance of completing the challenge in time it will also use ‘Kia Charge’. This provides easy access to chargers across all parts of the UK, Northern Ireland and Europe. Kia Charge lets owners choose from 23 charge point operators in the UK via a single account and dozens more across Europe.
Kia Charge provides instant access to more than 21,000 connectors across the UK, the equivalent to approximately 70 percent of the national public infrastructure, and more than 300,000 across 29 European countries, all from a single account.
Mac Mackenney, Project Leader, said: “We want to show how it’s possible to cover a huge distance in a short time using an EV, and that the vehicles, as well as the charging infrastructure, are already available.
“The Kia EV6 was the obvious choice for this amazing challenge as we’ve been seriously impressed with the car during trials, and we know how capable and comfortable it is on a long journey.”
From its departure point at Kia’s Norwegian headquarters in Lørenskog on the outskirts of Oslo, the team of drivers will use main roads and bridges to cover the 3,600 miles (5633km) and the adventure will be tracked at all times by a GPS. The location will be available via the Max Adventure website
The team of three will take turns behind the wheel of the EV6, resting and navigating. The only planned stops will be taken for driver swaps and vehicle charging. A support vehicle, also supplied by Kia, will accompany the EV6 to document the drive, carrying a photography and film crew.
Regular updates, including pictures and videos from the team, will be available during the drive, published via its own social channels as well as Kia UK’s and other supporting partners.
If you’d like to get involved with World EV Day but on a smaller more manageable, individual scale, the team have launched EV Meet-Ups for 2022. EV Meet-Ups is part of World EV Day on September 9 and designed for existing electric vehicle drivers to arrange localised meet-ups with prospective electric car drivers.
The idea is to inform and excite them about the benefits of moving over to driving an electric vehicle. This could be as simple as someone with a domestic charger and an electric car arranging to speak with their neighbours or something more substantial to arrange meet-ups on a larger scale.
