Couple set fuel efficiency record

A HUSBAND and wife team set a new fuel efficiency record yesterday for driving around the world on just 24 tanks of petrol.

John and Helen Taylor’s epic 78-day drive took them 29,000 kilometres through Europe, Asia, Australia, New Zealand, the US and Canada using less than half of the 50 tanks they were expected to use.

Their round-the-world trip in a VW Golf hatchback ended in London yesterday after taking in 25 countries.

They used only 1,303 litres of non-standard fuel, a special new formulation, which oil company Shell is testing for fuel economy.

The adventurous couple, who shared the driving, experienced cyclones, snow, Italian traffic jams and searing heat in the Australian outback.

They drove over the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco and met New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark.

Briton Mr Taylor, 45, and his 50-year-old Australian wife, who live in Australia, are said to be the world’s most fuel-efficient motorists.

During their Guinness world record journey, they spent up to 14 hours a day on the road together, covering an average 1,000km every day of the journey.

Mr Taylor, a football coach who has beaten cancer, said his favourite country during the trip was Pakistan.

“Every second of our drive in Pakistan was interesting - we had an armed escort all the way through.

“We had 93 kilometres where there was no road whatsoever, but it was great there,” he said.

In one day in Australia, the couple saw two naked runners on an outback road, drove between two lightning storms and were hit by a tornado, which they described as the scariest experience of their lives.

The couple, who averaged 100.9km to the gallon, already have 34 fuel economy driving achievements and two current Guinness world records under their belt.

“Alternative fuels are going to come one day, but whilst they’re not here, we have to choose fuels that will give us better efficiency,” Mr Taylor said.

“With the right fuel and the right fuel stretch tips, everybody has the ability to save fuel, save money and save the environment.”

Their journey began at Waterloo Place in London on December 17, passing by the Reform Club, where Phileas Fogg’s fictional journey began in Jules Verne’s novel Around The World In Eighty Days.