An EV Adventurer Is Driving The Mongol Rally In A Nissan Leaf

A company set up to promote electric vehicles is taking on the awesome Mongol Rally… in a Nissan Leaf.

Plug In Adventures, based in Aberdeen, has had a Leaf modified to cope with the unsurfaced roads of Mongolia, with sights set not just on being the first EV entrants to the 10,000-mile rally, but being the first people to actually complete it in an electric car.

The Leaf AT-EV comes courtesy of modifications by RML Group, a British automotive engineering firm. The most important changes are a slight lift in ride height, stronger wheels and dual-purpose tyres, braided steel brake lines and welded protective plates underneath all the vulnerable parts of the suspension and chassis.

The back seats have been ripped out for a 32kg saving, some of which has then been lost to a fire extinguisher and medical kit. Also quite handy is a Lazer Triple-R 16-LED light bar on the roof, which provides an extra 16,400 lumens of low-voltage light, to give the Leaf AT-EV some proper visibility when driving at night.

As for charging, the man behind Plug In Adventures, Chris Ramsey, says that he’ll have to rely on 240v sockets as he goes further East, but isn’t aiming to record a fast time anyway. Instead, he’ll be stopping in built-up areas along the route to talk to people about the benefits of electric power. That’s probably a bit ambitious given that in many parts of central Asia the technological standard isn’t quite EV-ready, but at least he’s having a go. He said:

“The Mongol Rally is our most challenging electric vehicle drive to date, but it’s one we’ve been planning for a number of years. Not only will we face a dwindling number of EV chargers the further east we go, the terrain also becomes more difficult to navigate.

“As it will also accept a 240v Commando connection even in the remote areas when my fast-charge options are gone, I can still charge the battery and keep moving. This journey is about the travel experience though, not reaching the destination in a fast time.”

Gareth Dunsmore, director of Electric Vehicles, Nissan Europe, is backing the adventure, saying:

“Few Nissan LEAF owners have been more vocal or accomplished as Plug In Adventures at demonstrating that electric vehicles can do so much more than the daily commute. We applaud this ambitious driving challenge and wish them a safe and enjoyable journey.”