Electric car goes 623 miles on single charge

(Credit: Japan EV Club)

A car group in Tokyo recently drove an electric car 1,003.184 kilometers (about 623 miles) on a single charge, breaking its own record for greatest distance traveled without recharging.

The Japan Electric Vehicle Club has asked Guinness World Records to certify the event, held at a track in Shimotsuma, Ibaraki Prefecture, last month.

The modified Daihatsu Mira ran on a Sanyo lithium ion power system containing more than 8,320 batteries. The car ran for 27.5 hours at about 25 mph. Seventeen drivers took turns at the wheel.

Guinness recognized the club's 345-mile journey from Tokyo to Osaka in November 2009 as the longest on a single charge, according to Kyodo News.

I'd like to know how many times the drivers stopped--and how this affected battery performance. Also, how do you fit more than 8,320 batteries (albeit small ones) into a car as tiny as the Mira? I doubt that there was much leg room left.