Adventurers Chris and Julie Ramsey are undertaking a trek from North to South Poles in a modified electric Nissan Ariya.
We all believe that electric cars don’t perform well in cold conditions, and recharging can be a real pain away from home.
So the idea of driving 17,000 miles from the North Pole to the South Pole seems like a recipe for failure, but Nissan and Adventurers Chris and Julie Ramsey are planning to do exactly that in an electric Nissan Ariya.
The suitably modified Ariya is now ready for the start of the trip in March (pictured above), and although the Ariya has been modified the changes leave much of the regular Aritya intact.
Nissan, with the help of Arctic Trucks – the same firm that created Top Gear’s North Pole Toyota – has given the Ariya new suspension and 39″ tyres, but the e-4ORCE electric all-wheel control tech remains unchanged, as do the motors and batteries.
To ensure the Ariya can be powered in remote areas – even Tela supercharges haven’t reached the Poles – there’s a towable renewable energy unit with a lightweight wind turbine and solar panels to grab what natural energy is available.
Chris Ramsey said:
One of the things that underpins all the adventures we do is that we take a standard production EV and aim to make minimal changes to clearly demonstrate its real, everyday capabilities, regardless of where you are driving it. Our Nissan Ariya is no different as the vehicle’s drivetrain and battery has remained factory standard, demonstrating just how capable and versatile the production Ariya is.
It’ll be interesting to see just what those big tyres and cold conditions do to the WLTP range of 319 miles, and how much energy can be garnered from the portable renewable energy unit.
If you want to keep up with the Pole-to-Pole adventure when it kicks off next month you can do so here.
Have your say - leave a comment