海角大神

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Tesla heads to Panama

Produce an electric car with enough range, and the journeys it can realistically achieve become almost limitless.The most impressive trip undertaken might be that of Randy Denmon and Dean Lewis, who have driven a Model S from Texas to the Panama Canal.

By Antony Ingram , Guest blogger

It was only a matter of time. Produce an electric聽car聽with enough range, and the journeys it can realistically achieve become almost limitless.

There have been a聽flurry of coast-to-coast trips聽recently as Tesla opens up its countrywide Supercharger network, but perhaps the most impressive trip undertaken is that of Randy Denmon and Dean Lewis--who've driven a Model S from Texas to the聽Panama Canal.

There's certainly no handy Supercharger network down that neck of the woods, and as聽EV World聽reports, preparation amounted to little more than collecting a bunch of different plug adapters and bringing along a spare tire.

Rather than the relatively smooth freeways spanning the U.S, Denmon and Lewis have had to contend with some of Mexico's less than perfectly surfaced back roads and the challenge of finding suitable places to plug in.

The pair have had to deal with other near-inevitabilities of such a trip, including shakedowns by suspicious border guards. Which makes it all the more impressive that Denmon effectively chose to do the trip on a whim.

Apparently, he's been planning such a trip for the last five years, but after buying the 85 kWh Model S, no time seemed better than the present.

According to聽EV World, the team has reached Nicaragua after over 2,000 miles of driving since the Mexican border, and should now be breaching Costa Rica. Next stop after that: Panama, and the famous canal joining Atlantic and Pacific oceans.

Such a trip is certainly more manageable in the 200-plus mile chunks allowed by the Model S's 265-mile EPA-rated range. While we're no stranger to electric聽vehicle聽road trips, it looks as if Tesla's聽sedan聽could become the weapon of choice for such journeys.

[Hat tip: Weapon Zero]