Dai Yoshihara receives the award from a Guinness World Records representative. Porsche said Yoshihara – class winner at the 2020 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb – was behind the wheel for the final, record-breaking stage of the drive.
The Guinness World Records has awarded a team of drivers in a Porsche Taycan Cross Turismo with the greatest altitude change ever achieved by an EV, Porsche said.
The 3.1-mile (5 km) vertical trip started on Sept 28 in an underground mine in Michigan and ended on Sept. 29 at the top of a mountain in Colorado, said Porsche spokesman Calvin Kim.
The team of four drivers, led by J.F. Musial, worked with Eagle Mine operators in Michigan's Upper Peninsula to be able to drive through it without any modifications or tire change to the car, according to a Porsche statement.
The team started its journey at 1,774 feet (541 meters) below sea level. To reach the summit of Pikes Peak in Colorado at 14,115 feet (4,302 meters), they had to travel across six states and about 1,400 miles. The car stopped only seven times during the trip, Kim said.
The team reached the top of Pikes Peak in 33 hours, 48 minutes. Of the four drivers, the only person to remain in the car the entire time was Musial, Porsche said.
"It was among the hardest things I've ever done, but I guess that's why it's a record," Musial said in the statement.
