Honda Goes After European Fuel Economy Record

Fergal McGrath and Julian Warren, two Honda employees based at Honda’s European manufacturing facility in Swindon, UK, departed June 1 on an 8,500 mile drive through all 24 contiguous European Union countries in a 1.6 i-DTEC diesel engined Honda Civic Tourer. They hope to grab the Guinness European fuel economy record for their efforts.

In the Civic Tourer, the 1.6 i-DTEC engine provides 118 horsepower and 221 lb-ft of torque. It has a range of 817 miles on a tankful of diesel, gets 62 miles per gallon in the European combined and emits just 99 grams of carbon dioxide per kilometer. It was chosen for the record attempt because it has excellent fuel economy in a multitude of real world driving conditions.

The car has to be a standard model in every respect, with no modifications to give an advantage. This will be judged by an independent witness at the beginning and end of the record attempt. Since the car must travel by road, the route does not include the UK, Ireland, Cyprus and Malta. In order to ensure no unfair advantage by reducing weight, the tank of the car must be filled to the maximum at each fuel stop.

Guinness rules require both drivers to be in the car at all times during the drive. They must enter each of the 24 countries specified and collect a range of evidence including a fuel/mileage logbook, GPS readings, videos, photographs and independent witness signatures as proof. In addition, the car has been fitted with a GPS enabled tracking system to provide digital verification to Guiness that all requirements for the record have been met.

The two drivers will average 370 mile a day and are expected to complete their circumnavigation of Europe in 23 days. The 24 countries which are covered in the route, in alphabetical order, are as follows: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden.

After 23 days in a Honda Tourer, McGrath and Warren should be delighted to see Swindon again and get back to work.