Around the World in 78 Days

28,970 km, 25 countries and 78 days of driving later, John and Helen Taylor have finally arrived back in London to bring an end to the Shell Fuel Economy World Record Challenge. They have achieved a Guinness World Record to their name for the most fuel efficient circumnavigation of the world ever undertaken in a standard car, completed using only 24 tanks of Shell petrol with the new Fuel Economy Formula.

OneShift Editorial Team

12 Apr 2006

The couple would be familiar to some Singaporeans as before starting on this attempt, they lived in Singapore and ran the Record Breakers Singapore Club, where they helped everyday people break records of every sort.

The Taylors completed their round the world trip on 4 April 2006, in a standard production Volkswagen Golf. All on only 1,303 litres of petrol for an amazing fuel consumption figure of 14.3 km per litre.

"Getting this trip together was the realisation of a great ambiion for me and Helen," said John at the finishing line. "It has been an absolutely unforgettable challenge for fuel and a real test of endurance for everyone involved in the journey."

"Its a tremendous trill to be back, after having travelled so far on so little fuel!" added Helen.

The journey was also a test bed for Shell, as they used it to road test their latest Shell Fuel Economy Formula. "This venture gave us the perfect platform to subject our latest lab work to the ultimate road test," explaind Roger Cracknell, Shell fuel economist.

In case people assume that the drive was carried out in clean, clinical conditions, it was not. The journey had taken the Taylors through every sort of driveable terrain and weather imaginable, from the minus 15 degree cold in Macedonia to the 46 degree heat of the Australian outback. Through gales, storms, downpours and across dirt track, paved roads, open highways and places where there were even no proper roads, the Taylors drove on and managed to beat their original target of 40 fill-ups or less by an incredible margin!

[URL=http://www.oneshift.com/articles/article.php?artid=3&pageid=1&view=1]The Taylors during the Singapore Stopover[/URL]

Credits: Dinorider