Imperial College London’s Racing Green Endurance team has ended a 70-day adventure driving the length of the Pan-American Highway from Prudhoe Bay, Alaska to Ushuaia, capitol of Argentina’s Tierra del Fuego province, and southernmost city in the world. The 26,000 kilometer (16,120 mile) trip had moments of mechanical difficulties and some days of struggle. The electric supercar was stopped numerous times, sometimes for pushing speed limits, but often to satisfy police officers’ curiosity. Alexander Schey, M Eng in mechanical engineering and instigator of the trip, reports on his final hours on the journey with his co-driver, Toby Schulz, also an M Eng. “Finally I have a few moments to write the blog I have most been looking forward to write! 2 years of really hard work, 140 days of travelling and 70 days of driving have brought us to this moment, and I hope I can communicate to you just how incredible a feeling it is to have been able …
Where Are They Now? Part Three
One team has reached its destination, although belatedly, and another is closing on its goal as two electrically-powered epic journeys reach their final hours. Vislab’s orange Piaggio vans and their retinue of support vehicles entered Shanghai, China on October 28, 18 days after their anticipated arrival date; and the Racing Green Endurance (RGE) team from Imperial College London has passed from Chile into Argentina on its home stretch to Ushuaia, the southernmost city in the world. Vislab’s goal of testing autonomous vehicles on the two-continent expedition, with the possibility of one day establishing a modern silk road from Italy to China and applying lessons learned from this journey to making everyday driving safer, had its share of problems, but the expert team managed to overcome these and press ahead in grand adventure style. Their press release marks the notable accomplishment. “The first intercontinental expedition in history composed of driverless vehicles left Parma (Italy) last June 26 and, after traveling for …