Skoda Breaks the Guiness World Record for Distance on a Single Tank
If you ever needed proof that the internal-combustion engine still has a few spectacular tricks up its oily sleeve, look no further than the Škoda Superb Diesel, which has just muscled its way into the Guinness World Records. And not for something mundane like “largest gathering of people dressed as traffic cones,” but for completing a frankly ludicrous 1,760 miles (2,832 km) on a single tank of fuel. Yes, one tank. As in fill it once, drive halfway across Europe, and still have enough diesel left to sneer at your neighbour’s EV as it sits tethered to a charger like a disobedient goat.
At the heart of this astonishing feat is Škoda’s rather humble 2.0-litre TDI engine, which, thanks to wizard-level fuel injection, clever aerodynamics, and the sort of mechanical fine-tuning normally reserved for Swiss watchmakers, managed to squeeze out an eye-watering 89 mpg (3.2 L/100 km). And before the EV brigade jumps in with “Yes, but that must’ve been on a closed track with a gale blowing behind it,” the record was actually validated across real European roads, with hills, weather, and the usual assortment of motorway muppets. In other words: a proper test.
But beyond the headlines and the polite applause from the diesel faithful, this achievement lands at a fascinating moment for the automotive industry. We’re told, daily, loudly, and usually by someone wearing vegan trainers, that electric vehicles are the only future. Yet here comes Škoda, quietly demonstrating that the old-school, piston-pumping powertrain can still evolve, still innovate, and still deliver outrageous levels of efficiency without needing a 700-kg battery pack or a three-hour recharge.
This Superb’s record stands as a gentle, diesel-scented reminder that sustainability isn’t a one-technology race. EVs have their place, certainly, but so do brilliantly engineered combustion engines. Sometimes progress isn’t about abandoning the past it’s about perfecting it.
p.s. Someone should have told them that they could have gone even further if they had been using X-1R
