Polestar achieved a Guinness World Record for the longest single-charge journey by an electric SUV. The Polestar 3 Long Range Single Motor covered 581.3 miles on UK public roads.
Three efficiency driving specialists – Sam Clarke, Kevin Booker and Richard Parker – managed the 23-hour drive without any modifications to the vehicle.
The team achieved 5.13 miles per kWh during their record attempt. That’s significantly better than the official WLTP figure of 3.53 miles per kWh for the large SUV.
The newly released long-range version exceeded its official range by 143 miles. The car reached its WLTP range of 438 miles with 20% battery remaining and continued for an additional eight miles after the range indicator showed zero.
Record Route and Conditions
The journey started in Norwich and covered mostly flat A and B roads with occasional dual carriageway stretches. Weather conditions weren’t ideal – standing water on roads created additional tire resistance and reduced efficiency.
Kevin Booker, who now holds five world records for driving efficiency, described the challenges they faced.
“Setting this record alongside Sam and Richard is a great achievement – especially in a large SUV such as the Polestar 3. There’s always jeopardy, and our attempt could have been hampered by the adverse weather conditions and traffic we experienced – there was a lot of standing water during part of the day, meaning more resistance from the tyres and lower efficiency. But, finishing up on 0% at nearly one o’clock in the morning knowing we’d beaten previous records was a fantastic feeling.”
Sam Clarke, who recently set the electric motorbike world record with Verge, noted how record attempts have become more demanding over time.
“Since we first started setting records, we have noticed how much more driving it is taking to achieve them. While we aim to push the car to the limits the car is also pushing us to our limits. I am pleased to be setting the first electric SUV journey record, and to do it in such a capable EV like the Polestar 3 has been a real pleasure.”
Industry Context
Matt Galvin, Polestar UK managing director, said the record demonstrates how far EV technology has progressed. He emphasized that long-distance EV travel is no longer a concern for consumers.
“While Kevin, Sam and Richard pushed the Polestar 3 to the boundaries of its range capability, it goes to show how battery range has improved exponentially over the past few years. For a large luxury SUV to go way beyond a London-to-Edinburgh distance is truly impressive.”
The Polestar 3 Long Range Dual Motor also won Norway’s El Prix winter range test earlier this year against 23 other electric vehicles.
Galvin added that the combination of achievements shows long distances are “perfectly achievable with minimal fuss” in modern EVs.
The Polestar 3’s 111kWh battery pack powers the single-motor configuration used for the record attempt. While impressive, the 581.3-mile journey still falls short of the overall electric car record – a Lucid Air GT managed 748 miles on a single charge of its 112kWh battery.
