These guys tried to drive 1,500 miles from Africa to England on one tank of diesel and faced just about every challenge

This YouTuber and his friend attempted to drive 1,500 miles from Africa to England on just one tank of diesel and faced just about every challenge you could imagine.

The YouTubers’ friend is well-known for setting records for ‘hypermiling’ which is what it’s called when you challenge yourself to get the most miles per gallon out of your fuel.

The two guys picked a specific car for the challenge because it was well-known for its record-holding fuel efficiency: a 2011 Volkswagen Passat 1.6 TDI BlueMotion.

With a slew of challenges ahead of them, they packed a spare jerry can of fuel just in case.

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1,500 miles on one tank of diesel?

YouTuber Joe Achilles and his friend Fergal McGrath set themselves a challenge that seemed almost impossible.

Fergal holds world records for ‘hypermiling’, which is trying to get as far as possible on one tank of diesel.

Now, they were attempting to get over 1,500 miles from the continent of Africa to England on one tank of diesel.

When you’re hypermiling, there’s one thing that is more important than anything else, and that’s making sure you pick a fuel-efficient car.

With the 2011 Volkswagen Passat 1.6 TDI BlueMotion, they felt prepared.

Setting off on their journey from Africa to England

When the pair set off on their journey from Morocco, they had a full tank of gas.

And, in order to successfully complete the challenge, they knew they needed to get 80+ miles out of each gallon.

As they were heading towards a ferry in Spain, they’d covered 250 miles, and it had taken them about five hours, averaging about 87 miles per gallon, which meant they were on track.

They approached the French border after 19 hours of driving.

By now, they were at 612 miles – averaging 91.2 miles per gallon.

But as the pair approached Bordeaux in France, disaster struck.

Not only did they reach standstill traffic, which massively decreased their fuel economy, but torrential rain and strong winds hit, causing a further loss of fuel efficiency.

After 1,380 miles, they reached the Eurotunnel, the tunnel that connects France and the UK, averaging 93.1 MPG, ensuring they make it to the UK, although on their approach to the tunnel they did prepare a backup Jerry can with 5 liters of diesel in just in case.

After 1,430 miles, the Volkswagen successfully made it to London on one tank of diesel, they even had enough fuel left for a few victory laps of central London until the car started to show signs of fuel starvation.

This was an incredibly successful feat and the two were very proud of their trusty 2011 Volkswagen Passat 1.6 TDI BlueMotion.

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