How do you arrive at the world famous Goodwood Festival of Speed in style, without involving any fast supercars? Apparently, Mercedes-Benz and renowned UK journalist, Andrew Frankel, did it by arriving at that festival in the Mercedes-Benz E 300 BlueTEC Hybrid. More amazingly, Frankel has driven the Mercedes from Africa to the UK in just one tank of diesel without any refueling!
Frankel began his epic journey at Tangier, Morocco and went through a variety of conditions, including rain, intense heat and bad traffic jams across two continents, four countries and three time zones over the duration of 27 hours. After 1,968 km, the E-Class arrived at Goodwood House, West Sussex, England, having used just one tank of diesel, with 160km left on the ‘distance to empty’ gauge. The car is a standard Mercedes-Benz E 300 BlueTEC Hybrid that can be purchased in showrooms, and fitted with 80-litre fuel tank, an optional extra for around £100.
The E 300 BlueTEC Hybrid has a 204hp diesel engine mated to a 27hp electric motor and capable of going from a standstill to 100km/h in 7.5 seconds. With considerate (aka moderate) driving, this car is able to travel almost 2,000km on a single tank; in short this car is capable of traveling from Bukit Kayu Hitam to Johor Bahru with just half a tank and still make the return trip with fuel to spare.
[Source: AFP/Relaxnews]
