The Venturi VBB-3 has set another new electric vehicle land-speed record, according to recent reports.
The new record of 341 miles per hour (average) on a “back and forth run” took place in Utah, at the Bonneville Salt Flats. The actual single-direction top speed achieved during the runs was 358 miles per hour.
Importantly, the Federation Internationale de l’Automobile’s (FIA) certification of the world record has yet to go through, but considering that they’ve already put a press release out on the matter, I’m guessing that Venturi expects for there to be no problems getting certification for the record.
Autoblog provides more: “Venturi and OSU have worked their way up from the 303-mile-per-hour top speed that the VBB-3 hit in 2009, and have said the vehicle could hit 400 mph in the right conditions, so expect future records to fall. These efforts aren’t without their risks, however. Last year, the team also reached record speed, but had to cut their track to 10 miles from 12 because of challenging conditions. As it was, the car’s electric system needed repairing, as did a hole in the cooling tank after the vehicle was jostled around on the Salt Flats’ bumpy surface. Previous years’ efforts were scrapped altogether because of rain and other weather issues, so this year’s conditions were a welcome change.”
Driving a vehicle on land at speeds of 341 miles per hour is of course a dangerous business. Don’t try this at home … oh, you can’t.