Wiebe Wakker and the Blue Bandit. Supplied
Remember Wiebe Wakker, the Dutch explorer who traversed the world, and the Australian outback, in a converted Volkswagen e-Golf to raise awareness of zero emissions vehicles and prove that electric cars are capable of long distance journeys?
The ground-breaking expedition by Wakker that saw him drive more than 100,000km through 34 countries from Europe, to South East Asia then Australia, where he pushed the very limits of range anxiety as well as taking some stunning photos.
Wakker’s incredible journey ended in New Zealand in July 2019, and has now been honoured in Volkswagen’s Autostadt museum ZeitHaus, a monument to transport history located next to the German car maker’s Wolfsburg car factory.
The exhibition, titled ‘New mobility – new thinking’, includes the e-Golf that Wakker dubbed “Blue Bandit”, as well as numerous objects, photos, videos and stories he collected during the three year period.
“I am incredibly grateful that my story is being exhibited,” Wakker said in a statement by email.
“The ZeitHaus is a place where only cars and projects that have a significant place in automotive history can be seen. I would never have dared to dream of this to happen. I am also proud that my story continues to be a tool to inspire people about the transition to sustainable mobility.”
The Blue Bandit will be on display at the Autostadt until April 2021.
Bridie Schmidt is associate editor for The Driven, sister site of Renew Economy. She has been writing about electric vehicles since 2018, and has a keen interest in the role that zero-emissions transport has to play in sustainability. She has participated in podcasts such as Download This Show with Marc Fennell and Shirtloads of Science with Karl Kruszelnicki and is co-organiser of the Northern Rivers Electric Vehicle Forum. Bridie also owns a Tesla Model Y and has it available for hire on evee.com.au.
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