On September 1st, American driver Craig Henderson completed a 1,478-mile trip behind the wheel of his Avion car using only 46.98 litres (12.41 US gallons) of diesel — the equivalent of 1.975 litres per 100 kilometres (119.1 mpg)! This remarkable feat helped him break two of his previous records.
Even more incredible is the design of the Avion, which dates back to 1984!
Breaking a 24-year-old record
Henderson, an engineer, left his Tacoma (WA) home on August 29th to fill up in Blaine, a small town located near the Canadian border. With a full 53-litre (14 gallons) tank, he then headed south on Interstate 5. His plan? To reach Tijuana, at the Mexican border, without ever stopping for fuel.
Henderson maintained an average speed of 88.5 km/h (55 mi/h). Obviously, his venture created quite a buzz and media folks in cities like Portland, Redding and Fresno were waiting for him along the way.
The famous hypermiler knew the route pretty well. In 1986, he set the Guinness world record for fuel economy at 2.27 L/100 km (103.7 mpg) driving the entire West Coast between Mexico and British Columbia. Two years ago, he did it again, improving his mark to 2.08 L/100 km (113.1 mpg) as he drove from Bellingham (near the Canadian border) to Portland (OR).
Even more incredible is the design of the Avion, which dates back to 1984!
Breaking a 24-year-old record
Henderson, an engineer, left his Tacoma (WA) home on August 29th to fill up in Blaine, a small town located near the Canadian border. With a full 53-litre (14 gallons) tank, he then headed south on Interstate 5. His plan? To reach Tijuana, at the Mexican border, without ever stopping for fuel.
Henderson maintained an average speed of 88.5 km/h (55 mi/h). Obviously, his venture created quite a buzz and media folks in cities like Portland, Redding and Fresno were waiting for him along the way.
The famous hypermiler knew the route pretty well. In 1986, he set the Guinness world record for fuel economy at 2.27 L/100 km (103.7 mpg) driving the entire West Coast between Mexico and British Columbia. Two years ago, he did it again, improving his mark to 2.08 L/100 km (113.1 mpg) as he drove from Bellingham (near the Canadian border) to Portland (OR).
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| Craig Henderson and his pal Bill Green designed and built this ultra-efficient car all by themselves in 1984. (Photo: Goodyear) |