Enlarge imageAn electric THINK City has completed a 4,500-mile, 12-country European journey at the hands of the BBC Electric Ride team.
The car completed the journey by crossing the finishing line of the Revolve Bridgestone Eco-Rally, along with two other THINK City vehicles taking part in the event.
One of these was driven by Channel 4's environmental designer, Kevin McCloud, and the other was a race-ready THINK City that will compete in next year's EV Cup racing series, by Roger Saul, of fashion brand Mulberry and eco-farm Sharpham Park fame.
The BBC's pioneering 4,500-mile, 12-country European odyssey in the electric THINK City was successfully completed exactly one month after the Electric Ride team left Broadcasting House on their epic journey.
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Roger Saul commented on the car's performance in the Revolve Bridgestone Eco-Rally: “The THINK City was very nice to drive and this EV racing edition was very tight. The whole aim of today was to drive from Brighton to London with the best carbon footprint and I managed to drive the full 50 miles using just half the battery capacity.”The THINK City driven by Roger has been converted into a race-ready model by the EV Cup team of specialists in London, who have removed nearly 70kg of weight from the vehicle, achieved by stripping out the interior to leave one single lightweight racing seat and steering wheel, and replacing all glass with heat resistant and shatterproof Perspex.
A revised suspension system to lower the centre of gravity and further improve handling, complete the conversion.
These racing upgrades coupled with a software update of THINK's patented EV drive control technology result in a greater performance from the race-ready EV Cup Edition. Watch the THINK City racer in action at a recent trial at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w4gEoV1oWzI
The BBC team's European adventure is concluded this Saturday on Radio 4 at 10.30hrs as well as on BBC Online http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/features/electric-ride Facebook www.facebook.com/BBCelectricride Twitter www.twitter.com/bbcelectricride and the project website www.electricride.eu
The latest generation THINK City is a purpose-built, all-electric car designed for urban environments. It can travel at highway speeds and cover 160 kilometres on a single charge (via a conventional household outlet), with zero local emissions. It is the world's first EV to be granted certification with the European CE conformity mark and EU homologation requirements (M1 certificate).
European production of the THINK City is underway in Finland with manufacturing partner Valmet Automotive, which also assembles the Boxster and Cayman models for Porsche. Customer deliveries are taking place across Europe in selected key EV markets such as The Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Austria and Switzerland.
Electric Vehicle Cup presents the world's first 'green' motor racing series based totally around zero emission electric cars, providing the platform for sustainable motor sport. For more information please visit www.evcup.com
Keywords: THINK City, BBC Electric Ride team, 2010 Revolve Bridgestone Eco-Rally
