It’s not a game, it’s a whole new way to travel: an electric car. Most people think that electric cars are not appropriate for long trips, but Xavier Chevrin et Géraldine Gabin prove just the opposite. They drove from Shanghai, in China, up to Paris, In France, in a Citroen Berlingo that was converted to electric drive by Venturi (the manufacturer of the famous Fetish sports car), in Monaco. 8500-miles! All by themselves. There wasn’t any assistance vehicle to travel with them, nor any people waiting to help at scheduled stops along the way. It was a real adventure, with the everyday trouble of having to find a plug each evening. And a bed to sleep after that. Your tourist’s guide doesn’t cover Kazakhstan.

Xavier Chevrin and Géraldine Gabin did it, their car making the full distance without any hiccup. Their only problem was a flat tire, and that is about the most minor problem they could face on such a journey. Driving often on poor roads, average speed was slow, and on one occasion, they managed to travel 250 miles without recharging. With 2 chargers on board (220 or 380 V), and several sockets, the Berlingo-Venturi was running on Zebra batteries. Those aren’t not making the news very often, with everybody’s choosing lithium-ion these days, but this trip proves one again that Zebra batteries, which utilizes sodium aluminumchloride (NaAlCl4), delivers, and are very reliable.

The team left Shanghai the 3rd of May (top picture), and they arrived in Paris on the 13th of July (bottom picture, obviously Xavier didn’t shaved much while on the road). With many stories to tell, they should write a book about it. The Citroen Berlingo powered by Venturi is available on the french market, but individuals will have to wait a few months to get one, as the french postal service has already bought a huge part of this year’s production.