A drone pilot and technology enthusiast set off on a 1,200 mile electric car journey from the Suffolk coast this morning to prove it a viable alternative to fossil fuel.
Matt Porter, 48, who is also known as the “Gadget Man”, departed from the UK’s most easterly point at Lowestoft Ness, headed for Ardnamurchan, Scotland, which is the nation’s most westerly location.
The Ipswich website designer is travelling with his best friend Paul Shalan in a Tesla Model S and will be “live streaming” their adventure as they go.
Having reviewed electric cars for his Gadget Man blog, and as technology correspondent on BBC Radio Suffolk’s Mark Murphy Show, Mr Porter is keen to challenge the “cynics” and their belief that electric cars cannot compete with the range of petrol or diesel.
He said: “By far the most common question I receive about electric cars is ‘what is its range?’ and ‘how long does it take to charge?”
“Tesla have very kindly provided a Model S 100D for our challenge; a car with a range of more than 300 miles between charged and recharge times as fast as 30 minutes.
“We are very confident we can achieve our challenge using their network of charging points along the way.”
He said driving the Tesla Model S felt “like you are riding on the coat tails of automotive history”.
The pair will be making overnight stays in “camping pods” in the Lake District and Ardnamurchan as well as a short trip on the Corran Ferry, west Scotland. Mr Porter has taken a gift of Adnams Triple Malt as a gift for the Ardnamurchan Distillery and hopes to take a bottle of their whisky back to Suffolk.
They hope to complete the journey in four days, returning to Suffolk on Monday.
To document the journey, they will be live streaming as much of the challenge and taking aerial footage using equipment from DJI. As the director of an aerial photography company, Mr Porter has shot many videos of Suffolk’s famous landmarks.
He has been raising sponsorship to cover the cost of accommodation, with any surplus funds going to the Red Cross charity.
Visit here to find out more about the adventure.
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