As the popularity of the Lord of the Rings or Monty Python and the Holy Grail shows, everyone loves an epic journey.
Now, expedition specialist Max Adventure will embark on a quest of their own - to drive a fully electric Kia EV6 from Oslo in Norway, to Portugal’s capital city, Lisbon. And they’re hoping to do it in just five days.
The 3600-mile EV marathon will pit the EV6 against the clock with the aim of visiting 15 countries in just 120 hours.
The expedition - or ‘Driven to Extremes Euro EV Marathon’ - is inspired by an endurance test completed by Sir Stirling Moss in 1952. The legendary racing driver took a Humber Super Snipe 4-door saloon, alongside three other drivers, through 15 European countries in less than five days.
2022’s challenge is similar to the route taken by Moss, with the team travelling from Oslo to Lisbon, driving 200-mile legs at a time. The team will draw upon Europe’s public charging network throughout.
Max Adventure says that the EV marathon is understood to be the first time the route has been attempted in an EV as a continuous trip.
The team, with support from Kia UK, will start the drive on September 5th and aim to arrive in Lisbon on September 9 for World EV Day.
Expedition firm Max Adventure opted to use the Kia EV6 having used the car to complete the first ‘Fen to Fell’ drive in an EV, a 209-mile route from Britain’s lowest to highest roads.
Max Adventure has described the Kia EV6 Air as “the perfect car for the Driven to Extremes team” to tackle the 3600-mile journey, thanks to its 328 mile range.
The EV6 can also be charged from 10-80% in just 18 minutes when using a 350kW charging device.
To ensure that the team has the chance of completing the journey within the five day time frame, the group will use Kia Charge, which will give them access to more than 300,000 connectors across 29 European countries.
“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,” said project leader Mac Mackenney.
“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.”
READ MORE
Subscribe to the Move Electric newsletter
e-CARS
Video: Can the National Grid cope with a surge in electric vehicles?
e-BIKES
What to look for when buying an e-bike: Move Electric's top tips
The rise of Volt Bikes: 'when we launched, people thought we were mad'
e-MOTORBIKES
Maeving RM1 electric motorbike review
Q&A: Zapp founder on why electric mopeds are the future
Government plans 2035 ban on new non-zero emission motorbike sales
e-SCOOTERS
Tier to upgrade e-scooter fleet with a smart 'Parrot'
Q&A: Neuron Mobility's UK boss on e-scooters, safety and helmet selfies
e-WORLD
Polestar to supply battery tech to electric boat firm Candela
Engineering giant ABB working on electric Dover-Calais ferry