International News

SRZero Completes 26,000km Marathon

23rd November 2010

This weekend, Radical's SRZero electric prototype completed its 26,697km journey down the Panamerican Highway, some five months after leaving Anchorage, Alaska, bound for Ushuaia in Argentina.

Designed by Radical with a team of graduates from Imperial College London, it has become the first-ever EV to complete the trip, withstanding floods, poor road conditions and accident damage to make the finish at the southernmost tip of the Americas.

Travelling with the seasons, Radical has needed to offer little assistance during the journey, the SRZero's SR8-derived chassis standing up well to the rough roads and climatic challenges of Latin America. With a range of up to 500km, the ICL team have travelled further on a charge than any other EV, stopping at some incredible locations, from the Hoover Dam to the Paranal Observatory, 120km from civilisation in the middle of the Atacama Desert!

Long Way Down documentary-filmmaker Claudio von Planta has been recording the trip and the team's exploits from before the trip started, on his Electric Adventures web TV portal; click here to view videos from the trip. However, his series of documentaries have caught the attention of the BBC; to this end, an eight-part series will be broadcast on BBC World News, each episode eight times per weekend. BBC World News is broadcast to over 74 million viewers in 220 countries, projecting the Radical brand to an even wider audience. The first episode airs on New Year's Day at 20:00GMT, look out for trailers soon. In the meantime, check out the team's trip diary here.