John O'Groats to Land's End electric car journey confirmed as record

An electric car journey from John O'Groats to Land's End has been confirmed as a world record.

BBC South transport correspondent Paul Clifton and two co-drivers drove the length of Britain aiming to set a new standard for driving efficiency in an electric car.

They broke the record for energy use on the 840-mile (1,350km) route.

Mr Clifton said it was an attempt to show if electric cars were viable for "real-world long distance use".

The team - supported by AA breakdown drivers and Ford engineers - left John O'Groats in their Ford Mustang Mach-E on 3 July.

To save energy on the journey south, the air con was kept off, the windows closed and the radio was not used, and the team travelled through the night to avoid any traffic congestion.

The car is on display at this weekend's Goodwood Festival of Speed event in West Sussex

The car was charged at public service stations along the route and made it to Cornwall 27 hours later, achieving an economy figure of 6.5 miles (10.5km) per kilowatt hour.

Final analysis was carried out by Guinness World Records adjudicators before the attempt was verified.

The team's attempt at a second record - for the lowest charging time, currently held by Daniel North and Sean Miller who drove a Tesla on the same journey in September 2020 - is still being verified after problems recording the charging data.

Analysis

By Paul Clifton, BBC South transport correspondent

World records like this are all about teamwork.

Yes, top-drawer driving skills are required, but so too are months of planning, selecting and testing the right car for a journey of hundreds of miles.

The aim was to assess whether these electric cars are now viable for real-world long distance use.

I admit I wasn't convinced an electric car was yet quite a match for petrol or diesel for very long distance travel.

I've changed my mind. We have reached the tipping point.