Can a Ford Fusion Hybrid really go 1,000 miles on one tank of gas?

A team of drivers, including NASCAR star Carl Edwards and world-record breaking hyper-miler Wayne Gerdes, will attempt to drive an unmodified Ford Fusion Hybrid more than 1,000 miles on a single tank of gas, raising money for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation in the process. The 1,000-Mile Challenge will follow a route from Mount Vernon, Va., to Washington, D.C.

No modificationsTo cover the 1000 mile distance on only one tank of fuel, the Fusion Hybrid will need to average at least 57 mpg. It would be one thing if Ford were using an experimental test vehicle or a highly modified Fusion not available to the public. According to a press release from Ford, however, the Fusion Hybrid being used in the challenge will be a factory-produced model with no modifications or alterations and will run on regular 87-octane gas.

During their trip, the team will be uploading regular images and video to YouTube, Flickr and Twitter.