Autocar’s Andrew Frankel is behind the wheel for 27-hour trek from Africa to Goodwood without visiting a filling stationA Mercedes-Benz E-class driven by Autocar’s senior contributing writer Andrew Frankel has driven non-stop from Africa to the UK on one tank of fuel.
The British-registered Mercedes-Benz E300 BlueTEC Hybrid started from Tangier in Northern Africa and arrived at the Goodwood Festival of Speed 27 hours later, having covered a total of 1223 miles.
Frankel, who shared time behind the wheel with a relief driver, visited two continents, four countries and three time zones on his journey, where he had to eke the full potential out of the hybrid’s 201bhp diesel engine and 27bhp electric motor.
During the course of the journey Frankel encountered heavy rain, intense heat, rush-hour traffic jams and dramatic elevation changes – providing a real challenge to the aim of travelling from Africa to the UK without the need to fill up.
The Mercedes-Benz E-class was completely standard but fitted with the 80-litre fuel tank, which is a £100 option on the car.
On arriving at Goodwood in West Sussex late on Thursday evening, the E300’s fuel gauge was still offering an estimated range of 100 miles; a suggested a range of 1323 miles could be possible from a single tank.
The E300 BlueTEC Hybrid – which has travelled further than any standard E-Class has ever achieved – can be seen in action at Goodwood throughout the weekend as part of the ‘First Glance’ category.
The E300 BlueTEC Hybrid is available as a saloon or an estate with prices starting from £39,880.
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