A Newtown resident has driven his way — carbon-free — to a Guinness World Record in conjunction with the General Motors subsidiary BrightDrop and FedEx.

GM announced on April 22 that BrightDrop Zevo 600 driver Stephen Marlin of Newtown set the Guinness World Records title for greatest distance traveled by an electric van on a single charge — 258 miles — as part of a drive of a Zevo 600 van from New York City to Washington, D.C.

“This accomplishment is a perfect example of the extraordinary efforts taken to make a difference for the environment and a fitting way to commemorate Earth Day 2022,” said Andy Glass, adjudicator for Guinness World Records. “We welcome them into the family of Guinness World Records title holders.”

Marlin’s bid for the record was backed by BrightDrop, a commercial electric-delivery van company, and FedEx, which is a BrightDrop customer. Marlin was transporting a shipment of environmentally friendly cleaning products from Full Circle, which is a customer of FedEx. BrightDrop and FedEx documented the trip via cameras placed inside and outside the vehicle.

“It’s been an exciting few weeks,” said Marlin, a client solutions account executive for BrightDrop.

Marlin took the van for a test spin on April 18, and then spent much of the next day with the Zevo van shooting “b-roll” for a news organization. The actual drive occurred on April 20, when he made the journey with a reporter in the passenger’s seat.

“It says a lot about electric cars that my passenger fell asleep,” said Marlin. “Electric vehicles are very quiet and smooth.”

He said his trip stopped in both Jersey City and Philadelphia, to add miles to the trip. The vehicle arrived in Washington D.C., where it delivered its shipment to Mom’s Organic Market, a retail chain that sells organic produce, raw foods, sustainable seafood, natural remedies, and cosmetics.

Marlin said he also made a delivery to the home of Chase Young, an “up and coming” National Football League player for the Washington Commanders.

“These were memories of a lifetime,” said Marlin. “A lot of little things made it amazing.”

GM Fleet Regional Director Betsy Flegg said the trip demonstrates the broad array of uses the new Zevo electric vans can be put to. The Zevo vans are primarily used by delivery services to residential homes and retail establishments.

“This van meets the needs of a wide variety of businesses,” said Flegg, adding that the vans are part of an effort by GM to make its fleet carbon neutral by 2035.

At Market Place in Newtown on May 31, Flegg presented Marlin with a plaque commemorating the Guinness World Record, which read, “The greatest distance traveled by an electric van on a single charge is 416.57 km (258.85 miles) and was achieved by Stephen Marlin (USA) with the support of BrightDrop and FedEx in Washington, D.C., on 20 April 2022.”

Marlin has lived in Newtown since 2007, when he moved here as part of GM’s Fuel Cell Project. His wife, Lisa, works as a Sandy Hook Elementary School educator, and he has a daughter, 24, and a son, 22.

BrightDrop delivered its first electric light commercial vehicles to FedEx in December after completing its first production builds of the Zevo 600 in just 20 months, making it the fastest vehicle to market in GM’s history.

According to Wikipedia, Guinness World Records, known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as The Guinness Book of Records and in previous United States editions as The Guinness Book of World Records, is a reference book published annually, listing world records both of human achievements and the extremes of the natural world.

Associate Editor Jim Taylor can be reached at jim@thebee.com.