1.5 million kilometers on the clock is the record set by the owner of a Tesla Model S P85 in Germany. Battery and motor had to be replaced en route; the performance retains the merit of testing the on-board technology.
Hansjörg von Gemmingen-Hornberg, a German citizen, is a fan of powerful, high-speed cars. Very big roller. But that doesn’t stop him from being drawn to electric cars. Also, in 2009, after having covered more than 600,000 km in his Mercedes 500 E, he offered himself a Tesla Roadster. Since then, the man has been setting “zero emission” mileage records. Its discoverable has also exceeded 600,000 km but, since 2014, it is in Tesla Model S that he swallows the kilometers. The meter of his sedan has just passed a milestone: 1.5 million kilometers traveled.
A Tesla in the million club
Cars exceeding one million kilometers are regularly talked about and certain brands have not failed to highlight these performances to praise the durability of their vehicles. Mercedes, Honda, Volvo, Porsche and Dacia are among them and have built a solid reputation for reliability over the years. But the emergence of electric cars is still recent and Hansjörg von Gemmingen-Hornberg, who currently travels around 250,000 km per year, is a pioneer in this field. He regularly participates in long-distance rallies. In November 2019, the Guinness Book of Records had immortalized the million kilometers reached by its Model S. Half a million has therefore been added to this number since. The man will soon cross the other symbolic milestone of a million miles, or 1,609,344 km.
TO READ. Unusual. A Honda CRX coupe has covered 1.6 million kilometers
Battery and motor changed, record to put into perspective
The Tesla Model S was presented in 2009 and then marketed in 2012; the P85 version that Hansjörg von Gemmingen-Hornberg acquired second-hand in 2014 was the first high-performance variant of the sedan. This propulsion is driven by a 421 hp and 600 Nm motor itself powered by an 85 kWh lithium-ion battery giving it 500 km of autonomy according to the standards of the time. The technology used was still young when the car came out and the journey to the million and a half kilometers was not without its pitfalls. The car’s powertrain is no longer original. The battery had to be replaced at 470,000 km and, before reaching the million kilometres, the engine was changed three times. The driver is however the careful type, never emptying the battery, never filling it more than 85% on a Supercharger, and rarely exceeding 120 km / h according to his words. According to him, Tesla took care of the majority of these interventions under warranty. Currently, Tesla guarantees 70% of the battery capacity of a new Model S after eight years or 240,000 km; the car’s standard warranty covers 4 years or 80,000 km.
Hansjörg von Gemmingen-Hornberg driving his Model S.
Hansjörg von Gemmingen-Hornberg’s record should therefore be viewed with caution. His Tesla Model S remains the most mileage electric car to date. It remains to be seen when another vehicle will do as well, or even better, with its original mechanics.
