A Volkswagen Passat BlueMotion driven by Sunday Times journo Gavin Conway has been awarded a Guinness World Record for the longest distance travelled by an unmodified production car on a single tank of fuel.
The three-day trip began in Maidstone, England, where the Passat's tank was drained and filled with 77.25 liters (20.41 US gallons) of diesel. The journey finally ended close to Calais after 1,526.63 miles (2,456.87 km), the equivalent of driving halfway from New York to Los Angeles.
Conway was accompanied by a navigator and video crew. The attempt was witnessed by two Automobile Association (AA) patrolman, who followed the Passat in a van. The Passat averaged 45 mph [72 km/h] and 89.93 UK mpg (74.88 US mpg or 3.14 lt / 100 km), beating its official combined average of 64.2 UK mpg (53.46 US mpg or 4.40 lt / 100 km).
The Passat BlueMotion model is powered by a 1.6-liter common-rail turbodiesel good for 105-horsepwoer. Like all of Volkswagen's BlueMotion models, the Passat BlueMotion features a raft of efficiency improving modifications including an aerodynamic package, lowered ride height, stop/start system, longer gearing and low rolling resistance tires.
The Passat used was one of the outgoing B6 models, not the newer B7 shown at the 2010 Paris Motor Show.
By Tristan Hankins
