Drayson Racing B12 69/EV Sets World Electric Land Speed Record

Jun 25th 2013 at 6:30PM
UK-based Drayson Racing Technologies today set an FIA world electric land speed record at RAF Elvington airstrip in Yorkshire, England. Their B12 69/EV electric Le Mans Prototype topped out at 204.185 miles per hour on the 1.86 mile-long runway. The modified low-drag electric race car was piloted by the company's owner and former UK science minister Lord Paul Drayson. "The reason we are doing this is to showcase the maximum level of EV performance at the moment--and in a real racing car rather than a teardrop-shaped land speed record car," said Lord Drayson in a statement prepared ahead of the record attempt. "It's a tremendous technical challenge but we believe it's about time someone moved this record on to demonstrate just how far EV technology has come."

Drayson Racing now owns the record for the world's fastest electric car weighing under 1000 kilograms, or roughly 2,205 pounds. The record was previously held by Battery Box General Electric, which recorded a speed of 175 miles per hour at the Bonneville Salt Flats in 1974.

The Drayson B12 69/EV features four axial flux electric motors, sending 640 kilowatts of power to the rear wheels. The car is based on a lightweight Lola LMP1 race chassis and was further modified for the record attempt to drop 95 kilograms, or roughly 210 pounds. Cutting weight meant cutting power output to 480 kilowatts--still plenty to set the new land speed record.

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