Fast charging capability for powerful Kia EV6

THERE is one astonishing car rally etched on my childhood memory when two Englishmen won a 1,000-mile motor race held entirely on public roads in Italy.

That race was the 1955 Mille Miglia, a famous rally fraught with great danger for drivers and their all-important navigators, as well as spectators.

The late great Sir Stirling Moss and navigator Denis Jenkinson won the ’55 rally in a Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR in 10 hours, seven minutes and 48 seconds at an incredible average speed of 99mph.

The race was known for its danger not only to drivers but also to spectators. Over its 30-year history, a total of 56 people died. After 1961, this once-prestigious race was no more.

How times have changed. I was reminded of Moss and Jenkinson’s fantastic achievement when I read about an entry for this month’s Mille Miglia Green.

Originally the race was driven over a single day and as fast as possible. Now, a “green” rally for fully electric cars covers more than 2,000-kilometres and is run across five days.

For the first time a Korean electric car will compete in the footsteps of some of motorsport’s most legendary cars and racers.

Moss and Jenkinson were up against some of the best drivers of the day, including Juan Fangio, the Argentine who dominated the first decade of Formula One racing, winning the World Drivers’ Championship five times.

Kia’s entry, the Kia EV6 GT is its most powerful production car to date, combining, says the carmaker, “great performance, first-class long-distance travel capabilities, plus ultra-fast 800V charging”.

Earlier this year, its performance capability was confirmed when the car was named World Performance Car of the Year.

Professional rally driving husband and wife duo Jade Paveley and Ross Leach are driving the EV6 GT.

The all-electric Kia are competing against other EVs from various manufacturers, entered by official partners and sponsors of the Mille Miglia Green.

The 2023 rally is a world away from the 1955 Mille Miglia. Moss and Jenkinson were the favourites to win at Moss’s fifth attempt. Moss relied entirely on Jenkinson’s so-called “pace notes” (a method still used in modern rallying) that they had spent months compiling before the race while driving a Mercedes-Benz 300SL on the route.

Incredibly effective, this was old-school rally navigation with Jenkinson’s notes written on a homemade roller scroll.

Moss’s confidence in Jenkinson allowed him to fly over blind brows at around 170mph before crashing back on the tarmac.

Although the Mille Miglia Green will not be seeing anything so spectacular, the Kia EV6 GT is no slouch when it comes to performance.

The great advantage of electric cars is that far from being docile, they can show remarkable pace simply because torque (pulling power) is instantaneous.

Unlike a conventionally powered engine there is no wait for power (engine revs) to build up.

Indeed, the Kia EV6 GT made its dynamic debut at the 2022 Goodwood Festival of Speed, where it attacked the famous hillclimb and garnered attention and comment throughout the course of the weekend event.

I have had some misgivings about EVs, notably because of the overall weighty feel of larger models. One of the key issues for new car buyers was range but the Kia EV6 has a claimed range of 328 miles, which with fast-charging options, addresses the issue.

I have two neighbours who run EVs and seem to do this successfully, mainly because they have home wall-boxes to charge their cars from at economical tariffs.

The other issue I have heard various comments about is not necessarily running an EV but the price of buying one in the first place.

The Kia EV6 GT is available from £62,645 in the UK. If you can meet that price, Kia says the car “offers spine-tingling performance at a fraction of the price to comparable rivals, with no compromises when it comes to driving thrill”.

So although the danger-strewn Mille Miglia of 1955 will go down in history as one of the greatest achievements of two Englishmen, there is still a thrill to be had from driving by some during these environmentally conscious days.

One thing is for sure, however spectacular car rallies of old were, there is no going back now. Yet I think it has to be said that the Mille Miglia Green strikes an optimistic note for future rally fans.