New Ford video shows some of the world’s best drone pilots tackling a unique and challenging course involving a Focus RS, a Mustang & a robot.

• New Ford video shows some of the world’s best drone pilots tackling a unique and challenging course involving a drifting Focus RS, a smoking Ford Mustang – and a robot
• Drone racing stars Luke Bannister and Brett Collis also pilot their drones under a Ranger pickup and through a B-MAX car, navigating remotely with the help of special goggles
• “Dronekhana” was filmed at Ford’s European HQ in Cologne, Germany, the city that this week hosts Gamescom – Europe’s biggest interactive games trade fair. Ford, also this week, will target gaming GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS™ title with the Ford GT supercar

Ford has brought together one of the world’s most exciting new sports and some of its finest fast cars to create a new video called “Dronekhana”.

Two of the planet’s best drone pilots tackle a unique obstacle course that includes a drifting Focus RS, a smoking Ford Mustang, and a robot. 

Pilots Luke Bannister and Brett Collis navigate their drones remotely with the help of special goggles, which provide a first-person view as they fly under the Ford Ranger pickup and through the Ford B-MAX’s pillarless doors. 

A rig of 36 GoPro cameras captured the drones mid-action in a style made famous by the 1999 film The Matrix.

“It’s basically like stepping into the cockpit. It was a tough course and we had some mishaps – but at least the Mustang’s all right, that’s all that matters,” said 16-year-old World Drone Prix champion Luke Bannister who took on the course with Tornado XBlades team mate and fellow Brit, Brett Collis, 22.

Named in tribute to the YouTube phenomenon Gymkhana, starring Focus RS consultant Ken Block, “Dronekhana” was filmed at Ford’s European headquarters in Cologne, Germany, the city which this week hosts Gamescom Europe’s biggest interactive games trade fair. 

It follows previous “Snowkhana” videos that have become a festive Ford tradition.

Ford has also invited five gamers from across Europe to Cologne to try to set a new GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS™ title for the “Longest video marathon on a racing game”, in Forza Motorsport 6. 

They face a two day stint behind the wheel of a virtual Ford GT race car to take on the simulated Le Sarthe circuit used for the Le Mans 24 Hours – where the real-life Ford GT race car won earlier this year. To set a new record, the gamers will need to race for more than 48 hours 1 minute – starting at 14:00 C.E.T on Tuesday Aug. 16. 

If successful, a presentation will be made to the record-breaking gamer on the Microsoft stand, at Gamescom, on Thursday.

Toyota gains a Guinness World Records™ title, setting a new record for the most vehicles in a hybrid parade.

Toyota broke a Guinness World Records™ title recently, setting a new record for the most vehicles in a hybrid parade. The official tally for the parade lap on the Alameda Air Field: 332 Prius owners in attendance.

California has a long and devoted history with Prius as the golden state accounts for 40 percent of the nation's Prius vehicles. Northern California is particularly well-known for its Prius population density.

“The Bay Area is home to hundreds of thousands of proud Prius owners, and we wanted to pay homage to the Prius this Earth Day,” said Pete Carey, vice president and general manager for Toyota Motor Sales. “We wanted to celebrate this revolutionary vehicle and the folks behind the wheel who’ve always been our early-adopters, thinking bigger about their carbon footprint and environmental impact.”

Today aside, Toyota and Lexus have double the hybrids on the roads than any other auto manufacturer. #PriusParade

Mitsubishi and Jamie Barrow, sets a new World Guinness speed record for a snowboarder being towed by a car

Britain's fastest snowboarder, Jamie Barrow, and the Mitsubishi ASX returned to the frozen lake of St. Moritz, Switzerland with the purpose to break the Guinness World Record for the fastest speed on a snowboard towed by a vehicle^[1].

Mitsubishi Motors in the UK supported Jamie with his ‘Adventure Advanced’ journey, providing him with the perfect vehicle – a 2.2-litre ASX 4. The smart and efficient compact crossover, with four-wheel-drive capability, Mitsubishi Active Stability Traction Control^[2] and a top five-star Euro NCAP rating for safety was an integral part of the stunt.

Being on a frozen lake, safety and preparation were a major factor when planning the project. The track was fenced off and piste bashers groomed the snow especially for the Guinness World Record attempt.

Strict criteria had to be met for the Guinness World Record officials, including completing a run in both directions with recording equipment to be set at 100m apart by an official. With 200m needed either side so that the Mitsubishi ASX could accelerate and slow down safely on the snow, a total run of approximately 500m was prepared.

On the morning of Thursday 28th January, Barrow prepared for the stunt and inspected the conditions; the piste bashed track was bumpy and the snow was soft.  These were not ideal conditions but Barrow felt comfortable on the warm up lap and confident that he could beat the record, which he managed to do on his first attempt!

The very out run was recorded at 100.840 Kph, but because the criteria for the Guinness World Record states that two runs, one in both directions, has to be recorded, the return run back was recorded at 98.901 Kph.  With both runs averaged, it gives the Guinness World record speed of 99.871 kph.

About his newly set Guinness World Record, Jamie said:

“I’m ecstatic at beating the record! I do think though that I could’ve easily handled going a lot faster if it wasn’t for the soft snow due to unseasonably mild weather.  I’m really looking forward to returning and attempting to beat my own record with the Mitsubishi ASX when there are more favorable weather conditions!”

Stewart McKee, General Manager of Press, Public Affairs and Events at Mitsubishi Motors in the UK, said:

“We are delighted to be supporting Jamie in this way. What he has achieved is truly remarkable and perfectly encapsulates Mitsubishi’s ASX “Adventure Advanced” message, seeing amazing individuals taking on amazing challenges^[3].”

Guinness World Record – “Fastest speed on a snowboard being towed by a vehicle”

Event Date:   Thursday 28^th January 2016

Location:      St Moritz, Switzerland

Vehicle:        Mitsubishi ASX

Speed:          Out run - 100.840 Kph

                      Return run - 98.901 Kph

                      Average of 2 runs for record - 99.871kph

Honda sets new GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS™ title for fuel efficiency, averaging 100.31 miles per gallon.

Honda sets new GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS™ title for fuel efficiency, averaging 100.31 miles per gallon in 8,387 mile drive across 24 EU countries

Honda has set a new GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS title for ‘Lowest fuel consumption – all 24 contiguous EU countries (all cars)’, recording an average 100.31 miles per gallon over 8,387 miles, in a 25 day drive across all 24 EU contiguous countries.

Behind the wheel of a Honda Civic Tourer 1.6 i-DTEC for the entire journey were two members of Honda’s European Research & Development (R&D) team, Fergal McGrath and Julian Warren, who took on the challenge to further demonstrate the impressive real-world fuel economy of the Tourer.

The remarkable distance travelled is similar to the team driving to Australia from their home in the UK, stopping just nine times to refuel. The car achieved an incredible average 932 miles on each tank of fuel, at a total fuel cost for the whole journey of just £459*.

The team set out on their epic road trip from Aalst, Belgium, on Monday June 1^st, navigating the continent in a clockwise direction. They returned to their start point on Thursday June 25^th, recording the incredible fuel economy figures which exceed the Tourer’s quoted efficiency of 74.3mpg by more than 25%.

Fergal McGrath comments: “It was tough, but we really enjoyed it, and setting this new GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS title has made all of the hard work worthwhile. This was a huge team effort so I’d like to thank everyone involved for all of their commitment and support. After spending so much time behind the wheel Julian and I are just happy to be back behind our desks for a while!”

The official GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS title is ‘Lowest Fuel Consumption – all 24 contiguous EU countries’, measured in litres per 100km and miles per gallon calculated over the entire journey.

Under the rules the same two drivers must be in the car for the whole journey, giving Fergal and Julian, Honda R&D colleagues of some 18 years and based in the UK, the challenge of driving an average of approximately 380 miles, taking around 7.5 hours, each day.

Based on strict and rigorous guidelines, the GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS title attempt required the car to enter each of the 24 countries specified, collecting a range of evidence including a fuel/mileage logbook, GPS readings, video and photographs and independent witness signatures to prove that it has done so. To ensure accurate monitoring of the route, journey time and distance driven, the record car was fitted with a tracking device, provided by fleet telematics and stolen vehicle recovery expert, TRACKER (part of the Tantalum Corporation).

Under the rules of the record title attempt the car must be a standard model in every respect, with no modifications to create an advantage, to replicate ‘real world’ conditions. This was judged by independent witnesses at the beginning and end of the attempt. Fuelling was carried out at regular filling stations, with the tank filled to the maximum at each stop to ensure no weight advantage. Additionally, tyres were inflated to the recommended pressures and the wheel alignment set to factory specification to represent the experience of the regular customer.

The team, both amateur drivers, were also keen to show that through adopting some simple but very effective driving techniques, anybody could achieve such remarkable fuel economy. They simply used some very logical methods including careful and sensible route planning, driving smoothly and consistently without harsh acceleration or braking, anticipating the road conditions ahead, carrying no unnecessary weight, and ensuring that the car was correctly maintained at all times. Driving speed was always within the law and keeping up with traffic conditions.

Leon Brannan, Head of Cars for Honda (UK) comments: "This is an incredible achievement and the team should all be very proud of the efforts that they have put in to set this new GUINNESS WORLD RECORD. Driving the equivalent distance from their home in the UK to Australia in just 25 days is a huge challenge very few would take on. The fuel economy figures are remarkable – particularly when you consider that this is not a small car, but an estate with class-leading load space and vast practicality.”

AUDI completes new Guinness World Record of 14 countries on one tank of fuel in 28 hours.

GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS confirms title after A6 TDI ultra is driven to 14 countries on a single tank of fuel 

• 14 countries and 1158.9 miles covered on one tank of diesel
• Audi A6 TDI ultra averaged 75.9mpg overall
• The #RecordRoadTrip began in Maastricht at 9.48am (GMT) on Tuesday 9 June and ended in Hungary at 12.44pm (GMT) on Wednesday 10 June
• 28 hours of driving completed almost non-stop by Andrew Frankel and Rebecca Jackson
• World record galvanises the Audi ultra philosophy of pioneering efficiency

Audi and the RAC have officially set a new GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS title by driving to 14 countries on a single tank of fuel. The unmodified Audi A6 TDI ultra chosen for the challenge comfortably exceeded its official 67mpg-plus potential by averaging a remarkable 75.9mpg and completing a total of 1158.9 miles without the need for a fuel-stop.  

Motoring journalist Andrew Frankel and racing driver Rebecca Jackson drove the A6 TDI ultra almost non-stop for nearly 28 hours from the Netherlands to Hungary, passing through Belgium, Luxembourg, France, Switzerland, Lichtenstein, Austria, Germany, Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Serbia.

Commenting on the new record, Jon Zammett, Head of Audi UK Public Relations, said: “By covering so much of Europe on a single fill-up, we have proven that real-world economy of almost 76 mpg or more can be had from the latest engine technology. The Audi A6 TDI ultra has proven the range capability of one of the world’s most advanced executive cars."

Both drivers faced numerous challenges in their 28-hour driving adventure including diversions for both heavy traffic due to an accident and a closed tunnel which led to an unplanned mountain detour.

Andrew Frankel, respected newspaper car reviewer, said: “I’m delighted to be part of the team that has set this record and would like to think it will stand for some time as we eked out every last mile from the A6’s tank. From an endurance point of view the challenge actually proved to be far harder than both Rebecca and I imagined it would be.

“Despite sharing the driving we were on the road almost continuously for 28 hours, focused on maintaining an average speed of around 50mph. In order to do this you have to be fully aware of what’s going on around you and anticipate what could happen with the traffic ahead. While it was normal driving in one sense, it was also a very different type of driving, but nevertheless demanding.”

Racing driver Rebecca Jackson added: “I feel Andrew and I have helped the RAC and Audi set a record to be proud of. I’m known for driving pretty fast, but this challenge was naturally more about maintaining a constant, fuel-efficient speed and not being caught out by vehicles which would cause us to slow down and then accelerate to the optimum speed again. This was an amazing event and a very different long-distance driving challenge to what I’m doing next year when I compete in the 24 Hours of Le Mans 2016.”

As the efficiency champion of the A6 range, the Audi A6 TDI ultra represents the pinnacle of the Vorsprung durch Technik brand’s absolute focus on maximisation of efficiency for extraordinary fuel economy and emissions, underpinned by a refusal to compromise on the hallmarks that define an Audi. The ‘ultra’ badge is also reserved for the most frugal A3, A4, A5, A7 Sportback and TT models, all of which are available to order now.

This new world record also proves just how capable the A6 ultra is of covering huge distances closer to home – in Britain, the same car could theoretically swallow whole the well known A3, A4, A5, A6, A7 and A8 arterial roads, again without a single fuel stop. If laid end-to-end, these key trunk roads, which sprawl southwards and westwards from the centre of London towards Southampton and Bristol, and radiate as far north as Glasgow, would stretch for 933 miles. The staggering potential range from its 73-litre fuel tank also puts any one of the 12 margins of Europe within  easy reach:

European cities within range of the A6 TDI ultra	Distance (in miles)
Zagreb	995
Warsaw	982
San Marino	915
Barcelona	895
Vienna	884
Monte Carlo	848
Andorra	783
Prague	757
Milan	701
Turin	731
Munich	684
Zurich	544

AUDI to attempt another world record in the A6 TDi Ultra, can it go to 1000 miles, or more ?

• Guinness World Records™ title attempt to drive to the most countries on a single tank of fuel starts from Netherlands tomorrow (June 9)
• Collaboration between Audi and RAC using 67mpg-plus A6 2.0 TDI ultra
• Ambition is over 1,000 miles on a single tank of fuel costing as little as £88* (€123)
• Motoring journalist Andrew Frankel and racing driver/TV presenter Rebecca Jackson will bring their driving skill and experience to bear in pursuit of title

Mile-devouring fuel economy is likely to be a key consideration for most drivers of the 67mpg Audi A6 TDI ultra, but on this occasion it is nothing short of crucial because a Guinness World Records™ title attempt depends on it.  

Tomorrow (Tuesday June 9) the efficiency flagship of the A6 range will set off on a Record Road Trip (#RecordRoadTrip) to secure the title for the greatest number of countries driven to on one tank of fuel. 

The project is being masterminded by the RAC, and the organisation is banking on the Audi ultra concept and the innovations in lightweight construction, engineering and driver assistance technology that underpin it to deliver the desired result. 

It has also enlisted the considerable expertise of motoring journalist Andrew Frankel and racing driver Rebecca Jackson to complement the car with some skilful and judicious use of the controls.

As ferry or rail Channel crossings would invalidate the title attempt the Record Road Trip will begin in Maastricht in the Netherlands, and will continue through Belgium, Luxembourg, France, Switzerland, Lichtenstein, Austria, Germany and Italy towards the Balkans.

The route has been carefully planned to avoid the economy-sapping effects of congested towns and cities, motorways and mountainous regions. Andrew and Rebecca will drive almost continuously, and will employ every technique at their disposal to use as little fuel as possible and maximise their all-important miles-per-gallon figure.

Completely unmodified

A familiar sight on continent-crossing excursions, the Audi A6 ultra was chosen by the RAC for the record-setting adventure because of its excellent fuel economy and large 73-litre tank, but also because it demands no compromises on space, comfort and equipment in return for its outstanding economy, which is delivered with CO₂ emissions of as little as 109g/km. 

Apart from its distinctive body wrap the record car will be identical in every respect to any other A6 ultra en route.

Commenting on the challenging expedition, Jon Zammett, Head of Audi UK Public Relations, said: “At a time when MPG is a top priority we are using an A6 ultra to set a new world record, using real world parameters. It’s truly astounding how efficient our executive car can be in normal use, and our aim to cover over 1,000 miles across Europe on a single fill-up costing as little as £88* (€123) will really hammer this point home.”

RAC Road Trip coordinator Simon Williams said: “We’re confident the combination of two skilled drivers, a highly fuel efficient Audi A6 ultra and a route that takes in the most possible countries in the least fuel-taxing way will lead to a hard-to-beat record that covers at least 10 countries, hopefully more.”

Available as a Saloon or Avant and with either manual or S tronic twin-clutch transmissions, the A6 ultra forms part of a range of ultra models which epitomise the all-pervading Audi focus on efficiency. Its most recent entrant is the A3 1.6 TDI ultra combining 80.3mpg capability with CO₂ emissions of just 89g/km.

The Record Road Trip’s progress can be followed at: www.recordroadtrip.com or via Twitter: @recordroadtrip#recordroadtrip

* Based on Experian Catalist average diesel price of 120.65p on 20 May 2015