Four new electric speed records for the UK

Lord Paul Drayson has set a new World Electric Land Speed record for sub-999kg electric vehicles with an average speed of 205.139mph over the flying mile.

This represents a modest 1mph increase over the previous record – which Drayson set last year in the same Drayson Racing Technologies all-electric prototype. But the ‘Lord of Speed’ (as we’ve just dubbed him) also broke four other records in the process.

On Bing: see pictures of the Drayson electric speed record

Lord Drayson sets new world record of 204.185mph in electric car

These other records – all of which are still subject to final homologation – include the all-electric flying kilometre, which saw Drayson average 333.271kph, and the all-electric standing start acceleration World Record, measured at 9.742 seconds for the quarter-mile with a terminal speed of 92.383mph.

The fourth and final record was for the fastest speed over a measured mile for a wheel-driven car of any kind ever seen in the UK – in other words a new overall British Land Speed Record. Not bad for a day’s work.

What’s even more impressive is that the records were all set on a runway at Elvington Airfield in Yorkshire which is just 3km (1.8 miles) long, leaving very little room for acceleration and braking before and after the measured distance.

The conditions were also very windy; the maximum speed records are an average of two runs in opposite directions, which must be made within an hour of each other – unofficially, Drayson peaked as high as 219.1mph during the test.

This suggests there’s more to come from the car, which has received tweaks to its “DRT 4×2 620” electric drivetrain and aerodynamics since the previous record in June.

A plan to try and find out just how fast the car can go using the 15-mile course on the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah had to be cancelled recently due to flooding, hence the decision to run again at Elvington.

Lord Drayson had this to say after setting the new records:

“We are continuing the testing and development programme of our electric drivetrain technology and we are delighted with the results achieved today.

“Drayson Racing is a laboratory for novel EV technology such as the high power Qualcomm Halo wireless charging system, testing it to the most extreme levels and that’s why we do this.

“The engineering challenge of accelerating a 995kg electric car to these speeds and then stopping in time on such a short runway is pretty intense, but it’s a great proving ground for our technology.

“It’s also an exciting way of demonstrating what’s possible with a state of the art electric vehicle.”

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On Bing: see pictures of the Drayson electric speed record

Lord Drayson sets new world record of 204.185mph in electric car

By motoringresearch.com