Nissan, with the help of EV adventurers Chris and Julie Ramsey, wants to be the first group to ever send a vehicle all the way from the North to the South Pole in a single journey, and they have officially started their journey in an all-electric Ariya.
Following a comprehensive safety assessment, the Ramseys started their journey at the 1823 North Magnetic Pole. From there, they will drive down through North, Central, and South America. In all, they expect to cover more than 16,777 miles (27,000 km) on their way and to reach the South Pole, in Antarctica, in December.
“After four years of planning and hard work, we’re so excited to officially get Pole to Pole underway,” said Chris. “Julie and I have done several EV adventures over the past 10 years, but Pole to Pole is definitely our biggest and most exciting challenge.”
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Naturally, to handle the harshness of the poles, the Nissan Ariya the Ramseys are driving has received some modifications. Chief among them are the 39-inch tires, designed to help the EV float over the deep snow. To accommodate them, the wheel wells have also been expanded, and the suspension lifted.
However, mechanically speaking, this is all Ariya. Neither the batteries nor the motors have been modified for this journey, and the EV’s all-wheel-drive system remains completely standard.
To help it get through the less inhabited parts of the drive, it will be towing a specially designed trailer, that has both an extending windmill and a set of solar panels on it. Now that we’ve passed the spring solstice, the lengthening daylight hours should help the EV charge while the Ramseys take breaks, and it’s already working pretty well.
“We’ve had to think differently, be innovative and collaborate with like-minded partners to make this expedition a reality,” said Chris. “Our expedition Ariya is fun to drive and performed well over the 5,000 km (3,107 miles) journey to get to this starting point. It gives us the confidence we can tackle every driving scenario we’ll face in the coming months.”
Together, the team hopes that these innovations and more will help power the future of polar exploration. You can follow the crew’s progress on their dedicated Instagram channel, @poletopoleev.