831 Miles, One Charge: Audi A6 e-tron Sets a World Record

[Source: Audi]

Range anxiety? Apparently, nobody told Miko Marczyk. The reigning European Rally Champion recently climbed behind the wheel of an Audi A6 Sportback e-tron performance and drove 1,338 kilometers, about 831 miles, across Poland without stopping to charge. The run earned Marczyk and the Audi a spot in the Guinness World Records and demonstrated just how much efficiency can be squeezed from Audi’s latest EV platform.

The record attempt began at 1:55 a.m. on September 11 and followed the Vistula through Krakow, Sandomierz, Warsaw, Toruń, and Grudziądz before reaching Hel on the Baltic Sea and heading back along the same route. This wasn’t accomplished on a closed test track, either. Marczyk drove in regular traffic, including stretches during rush hour, and encountered temperatures as low as 45 degrees Fahrenheit. More than 45 hours after setting off, the A6 finally stopped after covering 831 miles.

That’s particularly impressive considering Audi rates the A6 Sportback e-tron performance for up to 777 kilometers, or about 483 miles, under Europe’s WLTP testing procedure. Marczyk stretched that figure by roughly 72 percent while averaging an astonishing 7.09 kWh per 100 kilometers.

Of course, this wasn’t a normal road trip. Marczyk was concentrating on maximizing efficiency, using regenerative braking, maintaining proper tire pressure, anticipating traffic, and avoiding unnecessary acceleration and braking. Those aren’t exactly the habits you would expect from a rally champion trying to set a stage time.

The car helped. The A6 Sportback e-tron performance uses Audi’s 800-volt PPE architecture and a 100-kWh gross-capacity battery, with 94.9 kWh usable. Regenerative braking can handle approximately 95 percent of everyday braking events and recover energy at rates up to 220 kW. Then there is the slippery body. With a drag coefficient of just 0.21, Audi says the A6 Sportback e-tron is the most aerodynamic Audi ever produced.

Nobody should expect 831 miles from an A6 e-tron during the daily commute. But Marczyk’s record shows what the car is capable of when outright efficiency becomes the goal.

For once, a rally champion’s biggest achievement came from seeing how slowly he could use energy.