{"id":44171,"date":"2012-12-11T11:29:28","date_gmt":"2012-12-11T16:29:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/news\/?p=44171"},"modified":"2020-09-24T09:03:25","modified_gmt":"2020-09-24T13:03:25","slug":"ucf-researcher-breaks-electric-car-world-record","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/news\/ucf-researcher-breaks-electric-car-world-record\/","title":{"rendered":"UCF Researcher Breaks Electric Car World Record"},"content":{"rendered":"
Can an electric car survive a 400-mile trek around Central Florida on only one charge?<\/p>\n
海角直播 researcher David Metcalf put that question to the test this weekend, and he successfully drove a Tesla Model S production electric car from Merritt Island to Lake Okeechobee, through the Florida Panther Preserve, across Alligator Alley and back north.<\/p>\n
With his 12-year-old son Adam as co-pilot, Metcalf welcomed the grand challenge made by Tesla Motors\u2019 CEO Elon Musk to be the first to drive one of the vehicles 400 miles on a single charge. Tesla, founded in 2003 by a group of engineers, is based in Palo Alto, Calif. The Model S starts at about $50,000 and has been named the 2013 Motor Trend Car of the Year for its safety, efficiency and performance.<\/p>\n
Until Metcalf\u2019s efforts, the record driven by a Model S on one charge was 311 miles.<\/p>\n
\u201cOthers have tried the challenge in different parts of the country, but hills and other factors have made it difficult. Florida is flat, which worked to our advantage,\u201d said Metcalf, senior researcher and director of the Mixed Emerging Technology Integration Lab<\/a> at UCF\u2019s Institute for Simulation & Training.<\/p>\n Metcalf made the 423.5 mile drive in just under 17 hours.<\/p>\n