Vauxhall Ampera Driven from England to France and Back Via Chunnel

Dan Read, a writer from the UK magazine Top Gear, has driven a VauxhallVauxhallUnited Kingdom, 1857 > present31 models
801 photos
6 videos
AmperaVauxhall AmperaUnited Kingdom, 2011 > present3 versions
9 photos
1 video
from England to France and back via the Channel Tunnel. 

There are actually three tunnels connecting England and France under the English Channel. Two of them are used for normal traffic, and the third is there for maintenance or emergencies. 

Top Gear arranged for its writer to drive across the channel via this tunnel. For safety, the car had to run on battery power the entire way.

The Ampera has a Hold mode that forces it to keep the battery topped up. Read drove to the tunnel entrance in this mode to keep the battery level as high as possible. He switched it into normal mode for the journey underground. Read's Ampera actually beat the official electric range rating of 50 miles by traveling 60 miles on battery power. The entire drive was a 270 mile round trip. 

“We do like a good challenge at Top Gear, especially one involving the English Channel. The telly boys conquered it with an amphibious pickup truck, and now we’ve done it again with the Ampera – our current Green Car of the Year, and probably the most practical take on electric car tech," said Top Gear magazine Editor-in-Chief Charlie Turner.