Earlier today, Scottish adventurers Chris and Julie Ramsey were finally in a position to announce their completion of the nine-month, 17,000-mile “Pole To Pole EV” expedition, the world’s first drive from the 1823 Magnetic North Pole to South Pole — on an electrical automobile, no less. The couple actually reached their destination on December 15 (Friday), but they may only share the news after re-establishing satellite connection later. This feat was achieved using a Nissan Ariya e-4ORCE electric vehicle, which was modified by Icelandic specialist Arctic Trucks — mainly with larger 39-inch tires plus matching wheel arches, together with some ice-friendly gear and body reinforcement work. The powertrain and suspension were mostly stock — just with a lifted height, in keeping with Electrek.
All that extra load on the electrical vehicle meant it needed to make do with a reduced range of just 150 to 200 miles — a drop from the unique 272-mile mark. Throughout the Arctic and Antarctic parts of the trip, the Ramseys picked up tricks on keeping the automobile battery warm for improved efficiency. Most notably, they’d pile up a snow wall to shield the automobile’s underside and front radiator from the cold wind, or they’d even use a dedicated tent to cover up the whole automobile, when it wasn’t too windy.
Depending on the weather, the duo would use either a 5kW wind turbine or a prototype solar hybrid charging solution to juice up their Ariya. Failing that, there have been moments once they needed to fall back to their petrol generator — a compulsory equipment for traversing the Arctic regions. Likewise with their diesel support vehicles, as no electric version of those exist. Chris explained to Expedition Portal that the aim of “Pole To Pole EV” is to prove that electric vehicles make a viable alternative for existing diesel-powered expedition vehicles within the polar regions.
In between the poles, the Ramseys traveled through the Americas, with the northern part being relatively easy due to the readily-available chargers along the way in which. It was a unique story down south, but “Pole To Pole EV” collaborated with EV charging solutions provider, Enel X Way, to put in chargers along their route through Central and South America — especially the Peru leg of the expedition. Higher yet, Enel X Way has promised to maintain these recent chargers available to the general public afterwards, thus extending its electric Pan-American charging corridor.
This is not the primary time Chris and Julie Ramsey made headlines involving electric vehicles. Back in 2017, the Scottish couple became the primary to enter and complete the Mongol Rally in an electrical automobile — a modified Nissan Leaf Acenta. Charging was relatively easy between the UK and Turkey, but from there onwards, they’d to depend on domestic plug sockets and would find yourself with many memorable encounters with locals. The 2 drove 10,000 miles in 56 days — quite a challenge given the modified Leaf’s 90-mile range. “But we’re pleased that a large charging network has sprung up across the route since we accomplished the rally in 2017,” Chris added, in case anyone else is up for the EV challenge.
This Article First Appeared At www.autoblog.com
