A Chevrolet pickup humiliates lucid sprouting its autonomy record: 1,704 km without recharging

The feat of 1,059.2 miles (1,704 km) With a single load, place the Chevrolet Silverado EV Work Truck (MY 2026) at the top of the world “hypermiling”, spraying the record of 748.9 miles (1,205 km) than the Lucid Air Grand Touring He had established just a month earlier. With your battery Max Range of 205 KWH Useful (about 216 kWh Gross)the General Motors engineering team virtually doubled the official Pickup autonomy, set in 493 miles (793 km)and did it without altering hardware or software. The essay, conceived as an internal passionate project, will not be approved by Guinness, but evidences how far efficiency can go when all variables are optimized.

The impact is immediate: the WT Silverado already offered more than 500 miles of approved autonomy (comfortably more than 700 km of our WLTP cycle), key figure for fleets and professionals that prioritize minimum inactivity time. Now, The milestone places GM again in the center of the debate on the real autonomy of the electric And he presses rivals like Lucid and Mercedes to respond with tangible improvements, not only in the laboratory, but also in work scenarios.

Beyond the media blow, the record exposes the maturity of the modular kit Ultal. GM has achieved an average consumption of just 12.7 kWh/100 km, which is an efficiency of 214 % higher than the EPA estimate. However, the brand admits that reaching these figures requires very far from day to day.

How the feat was forged

During seven days consecutive, around 40 engineers They turned every hour to travel public roads around Milford Proving Ground And the island of Belle IsleIn Misthagan. To minimize energy losses, they maintained a constant speed of 20–25 mph (32–40 km/h)They dispensed with air conditioning and rolled with tires at their maximum pressure and specific alignment. The arms of the windshield wiper were placed in a special low position, a rigid roof was installed on the box, the spare wheel was removed and traveled with the lowest possible load.

Soft temperatures of American summer, around 25 °CThey offered an almost ideal scenario for the NMC chemistry of the battery and reduced air density, favoring aerodynamics. Each return to the layout (practically flat) added data that engineers will dump into future developments in the Ultium range.

Although the test was conceived as a “technical hobbies”, GM emphasizes that the use of an open traffic production vehicle provides real validity to the results and will adjust calibrations for customers.

Efficiency to the limit of physics

WT silvery recorded an average 12,7 kwh/100 kmfigure that, multiplied by the 1.704 km of the tour, aims at a total capacity close to 216 kWhconsistent with the usual protection window that leaves 205 kWh usable. This result contrasts with 28,5 kwh/100 km measured by US media such as Edmunds in May, when the same version reached 539 miles (867 km) on a more representative mixed journey.

Compared to other recent records, the distance of the silvery almost doubles the Mercedes-Benz EQS 450+ (649 miles = 1,044 km) and add half a thousand kilometers to the lucid brand. The key lies in a gigantic pack and in an ultra-efficient driving strategy that will hardly be repeated in real environments.

Even so, demonstrate that a pick-up of ≈ 4.100 kg can go down from 13 kwh/100 km Underline the latent optimization margin in electric mobility if each detail is faced, from the tire pressure to the aerodynamics of the windshield wiper.

Record versus everyday reality

Jalopnik and Motortrend agree that, however spectacular the figure is, the test does not reflect the routine of a professional who towers or circulates at 65 mph (105 km/h) with air conditioner and on -board tools. Under real conditions, Silverado EV WT usually moves between 22 y 25 kWh/100 kmthat is, between 480 and 540 miles (772–869 km)remarkable autonomy for your segment, but still far from 1,059 miles achieved at a turtle pace.

From about 50 mph (≈ 80 km/h) aerodynamics becomes the dominant force, since air resistance grows with the square of speed. In a body as frontal and square as that of a pickup, each increase of 10 mph can add about 20 % to consumption, so that moving from 40 km/h of the record to the 100 km/H highway typical highlights easily triggers the expenditure to 28–30 kWh/100 km. That aerodynamic “wall” is unavoidable: the chemistry of the cells does not matter if the air ends up slowing down the advance.

The vertical profile and weight (about 4,100 kg) also penalize in the slopes. Each meter of positive slope requires almost four tons to lift, which can add several kilowatts-Hora in a long port. In the opposite sense, lowering 3 % for 10 km does not guarantee to recover all that energy because the regeneration system is limited by the power of the engines and the absorption of the battery. Combining very low average speeds with absence of braking, as GM did, eliminates the need to regenerate and avoid those losses; Reproducing it in real traffic is almost impossible.

Even so, Not everything is bad news for fans of work electric. Many municipal services, maintenance work on campus or distribution of last mile are developed to 50–65 km/h and on mostly flat terrain. In these contexts, where the traffic speed leaves space for eccodriving and the payload is constant but moderate, it is feasible to see consumption below 18 kWh/100 km in urban cycles (a figure that would surprise any fleet manager accustomed to diesel).

Autofácil’s opinion …

From an editorial perspective, The Silverado record is a triumph of engineering, but also a brilliant marketing exercise. GM achieves global headlines and reinforces Ultium positioning as a reference platform just when the fleets rethink the transition to zero emissions vehicles.

However, critical reading forces us to remember that Customers of a pick-up need autonomy with loading, air conditioner and highway rhythmsnot in a circuit at 40 km/h. The true qualitative leap will arrive when a 4 -ton model offers those 1,000 km without giving up daily productivity. Meanwhile, the WT Silverado shows that the technical limit is far from being achieved … and also that physics and pocket continue to impose its own rules.

And in any case … if a friend tells you that he has a four-ton pickup and spends less than 13 kWh/100 km … no-te-lo-creas.