Autocar India and Ford Fiesta have entered the Limca Book of Records in a first-of-its-kind Max Mileage Marathon, recording the longest distance ever traveled on a single tank of diesel and petrol.
Representatives from the Limca Book of Records presented the Certificate to Hormazd Sorabjee, Editor, Autocar India and Arvind Mathew, President & Managing Director, Ford India at a ceremony held today in Mumbai.
The Marathon was held at the 4.226 km (2.63 mile) high-speed track at the National Centre for Automotive Testing (NCAT) at the Vehicle Research & Development Establishment (VRDE) in Ahmednagar. The entire event was monitored and supervised by the Federation of Motor Sports Association of India (FMSCI) and representatives of the Limca Book of Records.
The Ford Fiesta 1.4 litre Duratec Petrol was flagged off by Mr. Singh, Joint Director VRDE at 12:37 pm 29 th July. After traveling continuously for 1183 kms (735.08 miles), the car finally ran out of petrol at 10:11 am the next morning, nearly 22 hours later! The car extracted 22.43 kms from every litre of petrol (52.76 MPG).
The Ford Fiesta 1.4 litre Duratorq TDCi Diesel, flagged off at 12:40 pm on 29 th July, traveled nearly 29 hours, before finally running out of fuel at 5:23 pm, on 30 th July, after covering 1570.8 kms (976.05 miles). The car returned an astounding average of 31.48 kilometers per litre (74.05 mpg).
A brainchild of Autocar India, the Max Mileage Marathon was organized with the objective of proving that ideal road conditions, skilful driving and modern engine technology can result in huge fuel savings, thereby contributing positively to national savings. The Marathon also brought into limelight the vast difference between ideal road conditions and real road conditions that could result in potentially high fuel efficiency.
Hormazd Sorabjee, Editor of Autocar India, while receiving the Certificate from Limca Book of Record, commented, “Through Max Mileage Marathon, we wished to demonstrate that good driving conditions, combined with sound driving skills, and high-performance modern engines have the potential to considerably increase fuel efficiency and result in savings for the car owners as well as lower the burden of fuel bills for the country.”
Congratulating Autocar India on the unique record, Arvind Mathew said, “I am delighted that Ford Fiesta is a part of this historical mileage record. This is a further endorsement of the quality and efficiency of Fiesta’s modern Duratorq TDCi Diesel and Duratec Petrol engines, and Ford’s world class automotive technology. Fiesta offers exceptional value for money and can be instrumental in huge savings for the customer.”
The fuel tanks were filled to the brim and sealed just before the run. HPCL’s ‘Power’ was used for the petrol Fiesta while the diesel Fiesta was filled using HPCL’s ‘Turbojet’ diesel. The cars were driven round the track, at speeds between 50 kmh – 70 kmh (31 mph – 44 mph), until the tanks ran dry and the cars came to a complete halt. The total distance was measured by a sophisticated GPS system.
The drivers included Autocar India staffers Hormazd Sorabjee, Shapur Kotwal, Ouseph Chacko, Siddhraj Singh and Rishad Cooper. Auto-enthusiasts Renuka Kriplani, Iqbal Durazi and Byram Dhalla, took turns behind the wheels.
A member of the observers’ team / technical delegate was present in the vehicle through out the run. Representatives from the Limca Book of Record and the Federation of Motor Sports Association of India (FMSCI) were also present to verify the results.