In recent years, the electric vehicle world speed record race hasn’t been much of a competition. That’s because it’s remained a steady win for five years since the Venturi Buckeye Bullet 2.5 electric steamliner set the bar at 307.7-MPH in 2010. However, that changed earlier this month when the VBB-3, nicknamed the “bullet car,” broke the electric vehicle record at 341.4 MPH.
VBB-3 reset the electric vehicle speed record at a blazing fast 341 MPH. Image source: Venturi.
Electric powertrain manufacturer, Venturi, and its partners at Ohio State University had their sights set on a new EV record since unveiling the VBB-3 in 2013. According to the team, weather conditions previously stymied its efforts to get the car racing at its full potential. Although weather conditions weren’t perfect during the record-breaking moment at Speed Week 2016 due to a rain shower leaving the 11-mile course variable, the champion vehicle sped through. Perhaps if the track was smoother, the VBB-3 could have gotten closer to its estimated 440-MPH top speed.
Being a 3,000 horsepower battery-powered racecar, the VBB-3 is an incredible example of electric vehicle engineering. It’s been dubbed as the most powerful EV in the world, and most recently, the fastest. Motivation comes from a pair of custom Venturi-built motors fed by a lithium-ion multipack with cells from A123 Systems.
Behind the wheel was driver Roger Schroer, who also broke the speed record in 2010. “Each time I enjoyed driving the car and achieving this performance,” he said. “But at those speeds you have to focus on your task, not on your emotions. I know we can go further. This week the track was good — no main vehicle instability — much better than the last days during tuning and testing. We always have to be patient and wait for the track to be ready.”
Although the new record makes for a successful milestone, the team is inspired to make its vehicle even faster. “The progress made this year is a very important step in the quest to reach the 400-MPH goal,” said Giorgio Rizzoni, CAR research director.
From the looks of it, breaking the electric vehicle speed record once again isn't far up the road.
Source: gas2.org
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