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Transportation Power

EV Sets New Record for Longest Trip on a Single Charge - 749 Miles (newatlas.com) 121

Lucid Motors set a Guinness World Record for the longest journey by an electric car on a single charge, covering a distance of 749 miles (about 1,205 km), reports New Atlas. "In doing so, Lucid broke the 1,045-km (649-mile) record previously achieved by the Mercedes-Benz EQS450+ in June 2025 by the Japanese car website www.webcg.net/articles/-/52268webCG." The electric vehicle covered this journey between St. Moritz, Switzerland, and Munich, Germany, traveling through highways, secondary roads, and alpine roads — all without a single halt for charging. Given that the vehicle has a 960-km (596-mile) WLTP range, my guess is that the test team must have made good use of favorable road and weather conditions to make the feat possible. With a net elevation decrease of just over 1,310 m (about 4,300 ft) throughout the drive, the EV most certainly benefited from regenerative braking, a rather useful feature that turns downhill momentum back into battery power. Lucid has yet to release official data like average speed or total drive time, but what is apparent is that this was not a high-speed dash but rather a well-planned route to achieve one impressive result...

The Air Grand Touring has two all-wheel drive electric motors with a combined system output of 611 kW (819 horsepower) and 1,200 Nm (885 lb.ft) of torque. Power is provided by an NMC battery, which has a gross energy capacity of 117 kWh (112 kWh usable). Best of all, it can go from 0-60 mph in just three seconds flat... For reference, the almost half-priced BMW i4 and jazzy Porsche Taycan offer less than half the WLTP range of the Lucid Air GT. So, it's not like there's a head-to-head competition out there. Lucid is miles ahead in its class (pun intended!)

Starting at US$112,650, the Air Grand Touring is among the most luxurious sedans on the market right now. But as you can see, it comes at a price. Still, knowing that there is technology to conquer range anxiety is comforting. It might take a while, but there's no reason why we can't expect such range figures from reasonably priced EVs in the near future.

EV Sets New Record for Longest Trip on a Single Charge - 749 Miles

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  • by Admiral Krunch ( 6177530 ) on Saturday July 12, 2025 @10:24PM (#65516352)
    And how many charging stops to drive it back the other way up the mountain?
    • Re:getting back? (Score:5, Informative)

      by nickovs ( 115935 ) on Sunday July 13, 2025 @04:18AM (#65516756)

      And how many charging stops to drive it back the other way up the mountain?

      One.

      The dry weight of a Lucid Air Grand Touring is 2,360 kg. Add a couple of occupants at 80kg each then you're lifting 2,520kg up 1,300 meters. Gravitational potential energy e = ghm = 9.81 * 1300 * 2520 which comes out to just over 32.15 megajoules and very close to 9KWh. This is the baseline energy that is gained coming down hill and used going up hill. If we assume that the efficiency of the regeneration and the utilisation are about the same then you're going to gain less than this going down and use more than this going up, but the net difference is still going to be about 18KWh.

      The nominal battery capacity of the Air Grand Touring is 112KWh, with the usable capacity probably several percent less, so you'll need about a 20% to 25% charge en route going back up the hill. Even if it's twice that, I don't think you're going to need to stop more than once.

  • by backslashdot ( 95548 ) on Saturday July 12, 2025 @10:28PM (#65516364)

    Do it on flat terrain.

    • Set the distance record by going for a more than 750 miles north to south in the center of the USA or a loop around the flat parts of Australia, etc.

    • ...and at motorway speeds.

    • Re:Cheating (Score:4, Informative)

      by shilly ( 142940 ) on Sunday July 13, 2025 @04:31AM (#65516768)

      Can no-one do maths any more? It was a 1km descent over *1000* km. That *is* flat, basically. 0.11% angle of descent, on average.

      • I have taken my EV on a 500 mile journey in the US, starting elevation of 1000 feet with ending elevation of 800 feet.

        It sounds flat but I go through the Appalachian mountains for most of the trip. Despite having a net elevation drop, I do not see the range of my battery increase.
        • by shilly ( 142940 )

          Are you saying this to say that I’m correct, or incorrect? Because obviously a 200 foot elevation drop is irrelevant in the context of a 500 mile trip. It’s barely relevant in the context of a 10 mile trip.

    • Even on flat terrain it's a meaningless record. It's not like it's hard to add range to an EV, you just upsize the battery. It's not some feat of complex engineering.

      Now if they were talking about miles per KWh, or miles per pound of battery weight, that's a record I'd be interested in. You would compete by actually advancing the technology.

  • by Gravis Zero ( 934156 ) on Saturday July 12, 2025 @10:45PM (#65516388)

    I've been on ./ long enough to know this isn't going to cut it for the ICE loyalists because they drive 800 miles, uphill, in -200 F weather before driving 800 miles, uphill in 700 F weather to get home. EVs are clearly not up to the job! /s

    • by ArchieBunker ( 132337 ) on Saturday July 12, 2025 @11:04PM (#65516424)

      Don't forget they're always towing a 1/5 scale 18th century clipper ship.

      • I'd easily settle for towing my 1/8 scale.

        Jokes aside if you're stuck in apartments, and pretty much anyone under 50 is, then there isn't really any advantage to an electric car. You don't get the cost advantage or the convenience of not having to stop for gas. You just get a more expensive vehicle, especially after September.

        I know the Cyber truck is useless for towing of any kind. To a laughable degree. Not sure how well the F-150 holds up. I know it can absolutely do the towing unlike the cybert
        • Jokes aside if you're stuck in apartments, and pretty much anyone under 50 is, then there isn't really any advantage to an electric car.

          I keep my EV in my garage at my non-apartment house. I (with rare exception) never charge it there. I charge at public chargers near my work where it is cheaper. And not all apartments are street parking. Some have parking lots or parking structures that could easily accommodate public L2 chargers.

        • Indeed. Electric cars are a solution to some of the problems with cars, but not many. The best solution is viable alternatives to driving. I suspect most people don't want to spend time behind the wheel because it's boring and often frustrating, unavailable to kids and many disabled people. Should be unavailable to many of the elderly and it's expensive and you can't drive after a beer.

    • by tlhIngan ( 30335 )

      I've been on ./ long enough to know this isn't going to cut it for the ICE loyalists because they drive 800 miles, uphill, in -200 F weather before driving 800 miles, uphill in 700 F weather to get home. EVs are clearly not up to the job! /s

      Yes, and sadly that's not the reality of an EV.

      If you have access to electricity where you park your car, you can probably go EV. The mentality of "I need to stop and fill up" doesn't exist for an EV - because if you can charge at home, why don't you?

      Even a plain jane le

      • Yes oh please can I fill my car up daily? I'm dying to tend to my car on a daily basis
        • You only need to plug your car in daily if you are driving daily. Funnily enough if you plug it in and don't drive it stays plugged in. Otherwise you're already tending it every time you drive.

          • I don't use all the battery in my phone every day but I plug it in daily so that if I need it more for some reason. I would also need to do that with an EV otherwise I'm just asking to forget when it mattered most.
            • by shilly ( 142940 )

              In a decade of driving EVs, I’ve never felt the need to plug in daily, not even when I had a car with a range of only 90 miles. In all that time, there’s been precisely one occasion when I should have plugged in and forgot, and so didn’t have enough range. On that one time, I drove 10 mins to a local rapid charger, plugged in for 10 minutes, and drove off. Once. In ten years.

              Before I had an EV, I too assumed as you have that I’d need to be plugging in daily. But it didn’t work

            • I mean if you want to trade the 3 or 4 seconds needed to plug in your car when you arrive home for 3 orders of magnitude more time pumping gas, then you do you. Imaging if you had to take your phone to a shop to refill it to work rather than just plugging in.

              You are standing right next to your car closing and locking the doors already. You are right there.

    • Don't forget towing. They're towing LOTS of shit. So much it seems that there's no room left on their property so they can't charge.

    • And if someone thinks they may do that and they don't feel confident about the technology or the infrastructure and they would love if either these things were priced appropriately like in China or the technology developed to be more convenient.. what is the problem with that? Seems like if I bought a vehicle that may not do what I need it to then I am spending a lot of money backing myself into a corner. It's like you can't see how many people these cars don't work for because you have made it work.
    • Two amazing things. Growth of the charger network, kind of like what ICE had to go through especially in keeping with the technology of the time. The second is the ease of setting up a network. ICE equivalent would be a pumpjack/gas well with a miniaturized refinery. EV is basically drop a bunch of solar cells, some batteries, and a charger out in the middle of nowhere.

  • by RossCWilliams ( 5513152 ) on Saturday July 12, 2025 @10:59PM (#65516422)
    With a net 4300 foot elevation change I'm surprised they used any battery at all. Lets be clear, this was entirely a PR stunt. They chose a starting point and end point to maximize the elevation change. Regenerative braking is not all that efficient. You are better off coasting. I would think they would want a route with as gradual a grade as possible to limit braking.
    • Indeed, the most embarrassing part was they were beaten down the hill by a team of professional cyclists who only doped once at the start.

    • What do you mean by "not all that" efficient? From the moment change to the charge in the battery regenerative breaking is 60-70% efficient which is frankly an amazingly efficient conversion of mechanical energy to chemical.

      I'm not sure why you would be surprised that they used any battery at all. The potential energy of 4300 foot elevation change is very little compared to travelling 3,960,000 feet. There's still a lot of other resistances to overcome.

    • by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

      The elevation change was about 0.1% of the total distance travelled horizontally. It certainly helped, but not much.

      Most of the additional range over the WLTP rating will have been from driving very carefully and at the most efficient speed possible. They probably removed all unnecessary weight like charging cables, tyre repair kits, and so on. AC off, windows closed, daytime running to avoid using power for lights.

      Still, an impressive feat. Probably not nearly as relevant as it once was, because BYD is now

      • It certainly didn't NOT help.
        • by shilly ( 142940 )

          It helped to the grand tune of maybe 7 to 10% of added capacity. It was not material overall. The maths is really easy to work through. It’s well under 70 miles, probably under 50 miles, of a 749 mile journey.

  • $112,000. Plus tax. Plus luxury tax (in many areas).

    I can think of many things one can buy with that kind of money. Virtually all of them are things I would buy before buying a car with that kind of money. Virtually none of them different from the depreciation that a car does too, especially an EV car.

    In the meantime, my pesky ole 18 year old car has cost me nothing but maybe $500 in gas, so far this year.

    Not all of us "live large" I guess.

    • The GT is their most expensive trim. You can always buy used for 50% off. Their next car is purported to be a $50,000 sedan.

      • Or I can drive what I have, for the cost of gas, repairs and maintenance, which adds up to under $2k/year.

      • You can always buy used for 50% off.

        Now there's one hell of a way to sell a six-figure MSRP. Or a GT badge.

        Their next car is purported to be a $50,000 sedan.

        Based on actual value in reality, every car they make is a $50,000 car. They just don’t know it yet.

    • Where I live I could buy a HOUSE with that kind of money.
  • by sonicmerlin ( 1505111 ) on Sunday July 13, 2025 @12:10AM (#65516542)

    It’s got a 512 mile EPA estimated range. Most EVs are at 300-400. It pretty much eliminates range anxiety even for road trips. The only problem is they have so few service centers and it’s very hard and expensive to get parts for repairs.

    • It pretty much eliminates range anxiety even for road trips.

      It might limit range anxiety but at a price of $112k all it will do is replace it with financial anxiety. You'll feel comfortable about making it to the next charging station but not about making the next month's car payment.

      • Another company pushing toys for the rich, when people need tools for survival. Let them sell the $15,000 EV here. Better yet, build it here. Instead of that, US manufacturers chose to eliminate reasonable models - EV and ICE both - to force everyone upmarket.

    • It’s got a 512 mile EPA estimated range. Most EVs are at 300-400. It pretty much eliminates range anxiety even for road trips.

      If EPA estimates are just over 500 miles, I’d expect reality hauling around a lot more than a downhill demonstration did to deliver 10-20% less than that, based on weight and the fact I’m talking about a 500-mile Alaskan road trip to Grandpas cabin in January.

      Yeah. That real world. The one we actually have to drive in. Sorry, but reality is gonna have to prove this is some kind of anxiety-eliminating game changer. I don’t see it. And when I road trip, I actually drive. 650+ miles a d

  • "I tried circumnavigating the UK in an electric van — here’s why it was impossible"
    https://www.thetimes.com/trave... [thetimes.com]

    It's a really nice looking van but "It’s green, it’s eco-friendly and it can take up to six hours to charge, as Chris Haslam discovered. The road trip revolution is still a long way off"

    • "a distance of some 4,800 miles "
      And with some skimming, you can also see the caveat is that its only done by using supercharging at daytime.... which means no wall socket charge over night. And there goes my "bad faith journalism attempt".

      All the article can do is ask: Is the VW ID Buzz a bad car?

      • Bad journalism from the Murdoch press? Never!

      • "a distance of some 4,800 miles "
        And with some skimming, you can also see the caveat is that its only done by using supercharging at daytime.... which means no wall socket charge over night. And there goes my "bad faith journalism attempt".

        All the article can do is ask: Is the VW ID Buzz a bad car?

        Where's the bad faith? Why would he need to charge overnight when the specs are "an 84kWh battery that charged from 5 to 80 per cent in as little as 30 minutes and claimed a maximum range of up to 293 miles.". He set out on a month long trip, planning to drive a maximum of 240 miles a day, and expected he could recharge in 30 minutes. Is it his fault that in practice that 30 minute recharge was not possible? Or that under some circumstances the 80% charge gave him much less range than expected? Or that

    • by shilly ( 142940 )

      You only need to read as far as the fourth paragraph to realise that this guy is writing the same hackneyed hit piece we’ve seen so much of, where people do stupid fucking things on purpose and then purport to be surprised that these stupid fucking things make their life worse. Why do I say this? Because his fourth paragraph begins “ You need apps to find chargers. A single app won’t do because you can’t be sure that it lists all locations, or that it will communicate with the actual

      • treating EVs as thought theyâ(TM)re inconvenient ICE vehicles instead of adapting your modus operandi even the slightest iota will lead to you having a shit experience.

        Truth. I see this attitude a lot.

        "I don't want to sit around for half an hour while my car charges." Yeah, that's why we don't do that; we plug in the car and wander off to do something.

        But even *if* it's a charger in the middle of nowhere and you're stuck sitting there charging, I'd rather half an hour in the car, while the heater's

      • by _merlin ( 160982 )

        I don't know what the situation is in the UK, but in Australia, a lot of EV chargers do require you to have and Android or iOS app and sign up for an account. Each app can only be used with one charger network. Others (e.g. AGL) require you to sign up for an account and then receive an NFC ID card in the mail which you use at the charger. A card/account from one of these networks will work with several of them, but not with the app-based networks. It's a big mess, and there's no way to just pay with cas

      • The guy is on a month-long trip where he stays at campsites. Not all campsites have electricity. Even for one that he rented an outlet at the van was incompatible with it. He was only trying to make 249 miles a day and found himself falling days behind schedule. His summary says he liked the vehicle but the infrastructure isn't there yet for a trip like this. But according to you, he's a dick because the vehicle and infrastructure don't meet his needs.

        " by the time I reached Weymouth, two days later th

  • It may be the longest by a "stock production vehicle", but we don't even know that for certain. And it clearly used a major downhill amount to achieve it.

    By contrast, a battery technology company put a prototype 200 kWh battery in an older Tesla Model S in 2022 and got 752 miles in one charge (4 miles more), on flat terrain: https://web.archive.org/web/20... [archive.org]

  • Most people need a car that can do 400-500miles but the price starts at 5k.

    • Just like how they are always using Tesla's for different tests even though most people can't afford a be Tesla. It's like using a Lexus to serve as a model of all ICEs.
    • by shilly ( 142940 )

      “Most people” absolutely do not need a car that can do 400 to 500 miles on a single charge. They might *like* that, but they don’t need it. As for pricing, the median price for a *used* car in the US is nearly 18,000 USD. Only a small proportion of people — nowhere near “most” — buy cars for 5k or less

  • Public chargers are like getting faster internet for me...NOT HAPPENING where I live in the U.S. It's all location, location, location !! Retired with a smaller paid off gas truck and see no point in buying an EV.
  • People who can spend US$112,650 for a car fly private and RENT such a car at the destination.

    • by shilly ( 142940 )

      People who spend 112k on cars are definitely wealthy, but being able to afford that is not even close to being able to afford to use a private jet!!

  • Wouldn't it be more efficient to coast (as in neutral) in the downhill sections, versus doing the work to put energy back into the battery?

I have hardly ever known a mathematician who was capable of reasoning. -- Plato

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