You’d think that with how critical aerodynamics are when it comes to efficiency, a slippery sedan would probably be the best at pushing electric vehicle (EV) range records. But as of today, the longest real-world EV range currently on the market actually belongs to the Chevrolet Silverado – a heavy, massive full-size pickup truck.
Yeah, we’re as surprised as you are. In a recent record attempt, Chevrolet managed to stretch the Silverado EV’s battery to cover a whopping 1,704.6 km (1,059.2 miles) in a single charge, smashing the previous 1,205.4 km (749 miles) benchmark set by the Lucid Air.
The Chevrolet Silverado EV Max Range Work Truck has an EPA-estimated range of up to 493 miles (793.4 km), but Chevy engineers wanted to find out just how far they can push it, if they optimise everything else aside from the car itself. And as any good engineer would, they took on the challenge by driving it in one-hour shifts to fit within their regular work schedules, through public roads around General Motor’s Milford Proving Ground in southeastern Michigan.
The company says that the truck’s hardware and software were “untouched”, with the only adjustments being driver habits and small setting adjustments. These include maintaining an average speed of around 20–25 mph (32-40 km/h), while avoiding any hard braking or sudden acceleration.
To reduce drag, the windshield wiper arms were set to their lowest position, while the tyres were inflated to the maximum acceptable pressure for lower rolling resistance. The wheels were also optimally aligned. An accessory tonneau cover was added to the truck bed to improve airflow, and the climate control system remained off throughout the test.
In addition, the car was driven without passengers for most of the test, and the spare tyre was removed to reduce weight. The test was conducted in summer, taking advantage of warmer ambient temperatures for optimal battery efficiency.
So it’s not exactly real-world… but it’s at least a lot more realistic than the marketing stunts that some carmakers try to pass off as “tests”. Propulsion calibration engineering manager, Jon Doremus, stated, “If we drove it downhill the whole time, sure, we’d get insane mileage. But that’s not what this was about. We wanted this to be real, on public roads.”
General Motors Vice President of battery, propulsion, and sustainability, Kurt Kelly, emphasised that this feat was not achieved by accident and said, “It takes deep integration across battery chemistry, drive unit efficiency, software, and vehicle engineering — and that’s exactly what the team delivered. This achievement is a great example of how far our EV technology has come, and the kind of innovation we’re building on every day at GM.”
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