It might have been a public relations exercise, but having John Surtees become the first driver to roll through the Channel Tunnel in an electric car was awfully poignant all the same.

This has been a particularly trying year Surtees – still the only man in history to have won the F1 and MotoGP world championships. His teenage son Henry was killed during an F2 race at Silverstone in July.

So, when Yorkshire-based sportscar manufacturer Ginetta wanted somebody to drive its G50 EV through the 50km Eurotunnel’s service subway, they could think of no finer man for the job than Surtees.

It would also be the first time a private road vehicle would be allowed to drive the full length of the affectionately named Chunnel.


Surtees en route to Coquelles - in eerily electrically driven silence, made even more alien due to the Chunnel's air-pressure regulated enviroment...

Electric efficiency

With the Ginetta G50 EV sporting a sophisticated electric Zytek drivetrain (consisting of three battery packs driving the brushless DC motor) it proved a very apt participant in the 37th annual Beaujolais Burlington Run, which this year coincided with the 15th anniversary of the opening the Tunnel.

With the Ginetta’s classic long-nose front-engined proportions (despite the electric configuration) and rear-wheel drive, Surtees felt seamlessly confident at the helm.

Ginetta’s claims an operational range of 400km for the G50 EV, which ensured Surtees could complete the 50km run from Folkestone to Coquelles effortlessly.

Surtees was accompanied by Tunnel technicians who ensured the former F1 champ kept below 50km/h.

The return journey - by train - was slightly complicated due to Surtees having forgotten his passport at home...