Drama on the mountain: our inventors break another world record. But Porsche steals the show

Never before has a motor vehicle driven higher – up to 6,734 meters. The new world record team, consisting of various mountain guides from all over the world, a fully converted vehicle and a French rally driver, is from Porsche. It was his third attempt after failing in 2022 and 2021.

It is the record that our three Swiss inventors actually wanted to achieve with their “Terren”. They have been working on their electrically powered agricultural and multifunctional transporter for five years, always with the aim of breaking the world altitude record in Ojos del Salado in Chile. Now it wasn’t enough for a few days. But Terren’s team also set (another) world record in its category.

First the compulsory, then the freestyle. Let’s start by talking about Porsche.
Patrik Koller from Team Terren: Congratulations Porsche. They really delivered and set a record that will likely last for years to come. The four mountain guides in particular, two of which were from Switzerland, did a very good job driving the anchors into the ground and hoisting the vehicle up there. In the end it had little to do with driving.

Have you checked out her record?
We were in the area and were able to film with the drone. It was spectacular – at one point it looked like the vehicle was going to tip over.

I can’t imagine it being that comfortable. You had been dreaming about this record for years and now you had to see live how the butter was removed from your bread.
It was strange. Watching them master the final slope felt like the script had been written by a beginner. But that’s how it is. We are the underdog against a large company. And it wasn’t easy for Porsche either. They risked a huge amount of money. We tried again the next day in the same spot and saw the risks they were taking. You should know that the Porsche weighs only 1.7 tons, has an extremely low center of gravity – and is not street legal. The vehicle was lifted to an altitude of 4,500 meters by a semi-trailer. Our Terran drove the entire route itself, was charged with solar energy along the way and weighs 6.5 tons. In principle you cannot really compare the two record attempts.

But: You have also set another world record. Congratulations on that of course!
Precisely. We have improved our record for electric vehicles from 5900 to 6500 meters.

And you’ve proven how powerful your Terran is.
Precisely. And he really made it happen. It was a pleasure to see how easy and safe our vehicle is to drive. Some spots on the slope seemed difficult to explore. Actually we went up without any problems. We crossed a glacier, half of which was just bare ice. We did not achieve our record with a highly specialized vehicle made solely for this purpose. We drove up in a vehicle that can be used for community services, for example, and thanks to the solar power plant we were completely self-sufficient, spent the night at 6300 meters, were warm and comfortable, brought our own kitchen, a refrigerator, a toaster, an induction hob, a coffee maker. We’ve probably also broken several world records for the height of kitchen appliances. All this makes us very proud.

Would this also be a possible future application for your vehicle? Expeditions?
In each case. Thanks to the solar system, the vehicle is completely self-sufficient and can be charged in just one day, even in completely remote locations. To really experience this live in action… the feeling of complete independence. That was also a completely new experience for us.

Back to the record hunt, back to the absolute world record for motor vehicles. That is it?
Yes. Yesterday David and I spent hours exploring a new route on our motorcycles. It was murderous. And we had to realize that we had reached our limit.

What was it like when you realized what you had achieved at 6,500 meters?
To be honest, we didn’t even know that up there. We got up later than planned. We were tired and the terrain was brutal. Previously, we had lost a lot of time and energy on repair work, and then you stand there with a temperature of minus twenty or thirty degrees and the wind blowing mercilessly in your face. Little did we know that this would now be our record.

What dominates now? Proud of your record or disappointed because you missed out on the absolute record?
We did what we could. But our top priority is to get people and machines back down the mountain safely. We are a mini team, we are family men and here we are with our prototype, which costs two million. We can’t afford to risk everything and destroy the vehicle here. We must bring it home intact at all costs. And repairs at this height are no fun.

You said you were held up by repairs. What happened?
We had problems with the cooling system in the middle of the glacier. We had to repair for three hours. At times like this you wonder if it was worth it. But it’s probably human nature, especially in the nature of us as a team, to test boundaries. The repair work cost us a lot of energy and strength, one of the reasons why we decided to retreat to 6,500 meters.

What was the problem with the cooling system?
We were already having trouble with this a few days before [siehe letztes Interview]. There was air in the system. Here it gets up to 30 degrees below zero. We suspect that certain parts of the 3D printer deform a little too much in extreme cold, causing them to no longer fit tightly and allowing air to enter.

Did you have any other technical problems?
No. The vehicle is an eye-catcher. Slopes of up to 30 degrees are possible without any problems. It’s a great feeling to see the self-built vehicle perform like this under these conditions.

So what will you take home from your adventure at Ojos del Salado?
Gratitude that we were allowed to experience this. This is not a given. A lot has happened since the start of our project, two of us became fathers and we had our backs at home. We will return there. That’s where real life happens. And of course we are proud of ourselves. Our vehicle, built according to our ideas and plans, drove us over 6000 meters and allowed us to camp there comfortably. No one has ever experienced anything like this before us.

Then we congratulate you again and wish you a safe journey home. And I’m sure we’ll hear from you again. No later than when the documentary is finished.

You can follow the project, the three inventors, their company and documentary maker Claudio von Planta on social media. And here:

Terren electric propulsion systems and Peak Evolution:
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Mission website
Company website

Claudio of Planta:
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And here you can support the planned documentary film!