Wayne Gerdes is an expert driver. Not because of his speed or race-track credentials, but for his Feather Foot. Or, to use the auto vernacular, he’s an expert hypermiler: one who can achieve super mpg’s from just about any car.

This week Gerdes achieved an amazing 78 mpg, setting a new Guinness World Record for achieving the lowest fuel consumption in the lower 48 states in a non-hybrid car.

After 8,122 miles and 16 days, Gerdes and co-driver Bob Winger’s impressive economy numbers were witnessed by Guinness World Record representatives, sealing and official record. The team set off earlier this month, with the aim of beating a previous 68 mpg record for diesel vehicles.

Gerdes himself also holds the equivalent hybrid record, set last year with 64.5 mpg in a Kia Optima Hybrid.

“We felt we had a good chance of beating the existing record with a series production Passat TDI,” Gerdes said after taking the record.

“…But to smash it by averaging over 78 mpg is really impressive and a testament to the potential of Volkswagen’s TDI vehicles. It also shows how much the fuel consumption depends on the driver.”

Volkswagen’s advanced turbocharged and direct-injection TDI engine offers an official highway fuel economy of 43 miles per gallon (EPA) when equipped with the six-speed manual transmission (5.5 Liter per 100 km).

Made at the World’s Greenest Facility

The new Volkswagen Passat manufacturing facility in Chattanooga, Tennessee has a massive solar installation that supplies upwards of 12% of the energy needed to build each and every North American Passat and is the only automobile in the world manufactured in an LEED Platinum certified plant.

Follow Gerdes and his team at GreenCarReports on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Google+

–