Like clockwork

German engineering and Indian manufacturing unite as we use Volkswagen cars to smash multiple records

SETTING A NEW NATIONAL RECORD FOR 24 HOURS AT 4,654.48KM IN A VIRTUS GT

IN MY HUMBLE OPINION, RECORDS are made to be broken! In 2021, Team evo India braved torrential downpour to smash the previous national record for the maximum distance covered in 24 hours, of 3,161km, by a whopping 1,223km. At the time, everyone agreed that the new record of 4,384.73km, would require an almighty push to break. But just three years later, we have done it again, setting a new national record for the maximum distance covered in 24 hours at 4,654.48km in a Volkswagen Virtus GT. That’s not all; the team also set over 300 national records for distance, average speed, and time in the process, validated by the FMSCI and the India Book of Records.

The record attempt was conducted on the 11.3km high-speed track at the National Automotive Test Tracks (NATRAX) facility in Pithampur, Madhya Pradesh. This stateof-the-art banked oval boasts four lanes and allows for speeds of over 250kmph with neutral steering on the topmost lane of the banking. The Virtus and Taigun were selected as the ideal candidates for the record attempt, given their combination of performance, highspeed stability and fuel efficiency. All vehicles used in the attempt were completely stock, requiring only a full service and the installation of a fresh set of Apollo Alnac 4G tyres.

Three Volkswagen Virtus’s and two Volkswagen Taiguns were used for the record attempt, each with its own strategy in pursuit of different records. Two Virtus GTs equipped with 1.5-litre TSI engines mated to DSG transmissions ran flat out for 24 hours in pursuit of the overall national record for the maximum distance covered in 24 hours. Additionally, a 1-litre Taigun with an automatic transmission ran at top speed in the quest for the record for the maximum distance covered by an SUV in 24 hours. These three vehicles ran at full throttle for 24 hours, stopping only to refuel, switch drivers, and have their tyres rotated and replaced if required. A third Virtus equipped with the 1-litre TSI and a manual transmission ran a different strategy, cruising at 180kmph for 24 hours, therefore requiring fewer stops for refuelling. Finally, another 1-litre automatic Taigun wafted along at a calm 55kmph in the slow lane for the record of highest fuel efficiency by a turbo-petrol engine in 24 hours, stopping only to change drivers every three hours.

Piloting these record-breaking vehicles was a skilled roster of drivers from Team evo India and other media outlets, as well as friends

from the motorsport fraternity. The first of the two Virtus GTs was driven by our Ed, Sirish Chandran, Technical Ed Byram Godrej, Asst Ed Aatish Mishra, and rally ace Prithveen Rajan. The second Virtus GT had our Editor of Special Projects Anand Mohan, Apollo Tyres’ Manish Sarser, as well as racing drivers Fabid Ahmer, Ranjith Gopinath and Deepak Chinnappa. The high-speed Taigun was driven by yours truly, evo India’s Karan Ramgopal, Apollo Tyres’ Kamlendra Singh, and fellow motoring journalists Karan Singh and Abhay Verma. The 1-litre Virtus was driven by evo India’s Mandar Sawant and Zubbin Veera in addition to automotive journalists Arpit Mahendra, Kushan Mitra, Faisal Khan, Vikram Gaur and Ashish Jha. And lastly, our boys Mohit Vashisth, Rohin Lalwani, and Apollo Tyres’ Riya Arora maintained a steady 55kmph for three hours at a time in the Taigun, with Mandar Sawant, and myself pitching in, in between.

At 14:00hrs IST, the event was flagged off as the cars hit the track at one-minute intervals. The lead Virtus GTs broke distance records every hour, while the Taigun set new benchmarks for SUV performance. The third Virtus played the long game, silently going about its business at a steady 180kmph to maximise the distance covered between each stint. Meanwhile, the crew of the last Taigun settled in for arduous three-hour stints at 55kmph. Pit operations were expertly managed by a team from Rayo Racing, who currently oversee VW’s Polo Cup cars, ensuring well-choreographed pit stops, while timekeepers from Chronopulse tracked each vehicle’s lap times and distances covered. Eight hours into the run, the Taigun’s tyres that were subjected to continuous highspeed driving were replaced with a fresh set. With negligible wear observed, the decision was made to continue running all remaining cars on the same set of tyres, with rotations as needed.

22 hours and 39 minutes after it set off, the lead Virtus GT smashed the previous record of 4,654.48km, with the second Virtus GT hot on its tail. The 1-litre Taigun was not far behind, on its way to break the previous overall record set by an SUV with twice its cubic capacity. The final number and the other 300+ records we collectively set are presented here: ⌧