Driving across the United States is a bucket list item for many and Wayne Gerdes has just broken the Guinness World Record title for the shortest charging time to cross the United States in an electric vehicle (EV).
Gerdes completed the trip from New York to Los Angeles, which covered 2,834.5 miles (4561.7km), in a 2021 Porsche Taycan, which is already one of the brand’s best-selling cars, with a cumulative charge time of just 2 hours, 26 minutes, and 48 seconds. He beat the previous benchmark of 7 hours, 10 minutes and 1 second in the process.
This record shows how far electric cars have come in recent years. It highlights their range and efficiency, as well proving that charging infrastructure is there to support big trips such as driving from coast-to-coast across America.
Hopefully, this will help encourage people to make the change to cleaner driving and speed up the transition to electric vehicles.
Gerdes said: “Comparing charging performance from a variety of electric vehicles I have driven to date, the Taycan sets the bar. The first time I charged on a 350KW charger, six to 82 percent occurred in just 22 minutes.”
To complete the Guinness World Records title attempt, Gerdes was required to meet a daunting set of requirements, including meticulously noting every stop – with independent witnesses for each charge.
Every mile covered was filmed, GPS tracked and accounted for before being certified by a panel of adjudicators ahead of the record being accepted.
The car used was a standard 2021 Taycan electric vehicle equipped with the Performance Battery Plus. To prepare for the drive, Gerdes plotted the route across America using Plug Share and the Electrify America app. He benefitted from the ease of use of Plug-and-Charge for the majority of the trip.
Gerdes added: “I’m proud and honestly a little surprised to have set the new benchmark by such a margin. The Taycan performed even better than expected.
“Its performance, comfort and road holding were excellent but the standout metric alongside the charging capacity was its efficiency. I’m grateful to both Porsche for supporting me and to Electrify America’s network, which made it possible.”
This Guinness World Record follows the recent record for the greatest altitude achieved by an electric car, once again in a Porsche Taycan. The all-electric Ford Mustang Mach-E also earned a Guinness World Record for the shortest charge time (43 minutes and 13 seconds) on Britain’s longest journey from John O’Groats to Land’s End.
