Hot on the heels of Honda’s 100.31 MPG drive across Europe, Volkswagen has set a new fuel economy record in the U.S.
Driven by expert hypermiler Wayne Gerdes and energy engineer Bob Winter, the team crossed all 48 continental U.S. states over 16 days. With 8,233.5 miles under their belts, Gerdes and Winter averaged an impressive 81.17 MPG and less than $300 in fuel costs for the trip.
Hypermilers Wayne Gerdes and Bob Winter crossed through all 48 continental U.S. states after 16 days behind the wheel of a Golf TDI.
Handout, Volkswagen
That’s good enough to beat not one, but two Guinness World Records for crossing the U.S. with the lowest fuel consumption. The previous hybrid and non-hybrid records were 74.34 and 77.99 mpg, respectively. For comparison’s sake, official U.S. fuel economy figures rate the six-speed manual Golf TDI at 45 mpg on the highway.
With Shell and Goodyear on board as sponsors, the Golf TDI ran on Shell ultra-low-sulphur diesel fuel and wore a set of Goodyear Assurance Fuel Max tires. Aside from those two “modifications” and a vinyl wrap on the body, the car was otherwise stock.
