zzdcar
Home
/
Reviews
/
Racing
/
The EV West Electraliner Set A Bonneville Electric Speed Record At 218.2 MPH (Update: They Went Faster)
The EV West Electraliner Set A Bonneville Electric Speed Record At 218.2 MPH (Update: They Went Faster)-October 2024
2024-02-19 EST 22:11:03

Image for article titled The EV West Electraliner Set A Bonneville Electric Speed Record At 218.2 MPH (Update: They Went Faster)

The EV car nerds will soon inherit the earth. From the moment this project started to the moment the car won its class speed record was just three months, which may well be the most impressive compressed racing program I’ve ever born witness to. made four runs in two days on the Bonneville salt to go down in history as the fastest E2 class car to ever run.

: The Electraliner was pumped up to full power for a run on Friday morning and put down a run over 240 mph. Averaged with the previous 219 mph run on Thursday, .

The electric powertrain nerds at EV West are doing everything they can to propel Southern…

The Tesla-powered Electraliner punched the old record—213.0 mph set in 1997—right in the face by putting down a two-run average of 218.2 mph. The car is powered by one of the big Tesla electric motors and a huge array of 294 individual Panasonic batteries. The whole car weighs in at just 2060 pounds, which is a little bit less than the 2200 pound max weight the E2 electric streamliner class mandates.

On Wednesday, after getting the car to pass SCTA tech inspection, the team needed to run a sub-175 MPH run on the short course before they were allowed to graduate to the long course. That morning driver Roger Hickey pushed the car across the line at 169.745 miles per hour to qualify to run on the long course. The team managed to get the batteries swapped out and back out to make an immediate attempt at the record.

For the car’s first run on the long course, the Electraliner was allegedly set to 50 percent of its maximum power output. If we believe EV West on that fact, it’s pretty astonishing that the low power setting produced a speed of about 211 miles per hour. Not quite fast enough to qualify the car for the record, but certainly a proof of concept, and a nice break-in for the driver. He’s already got speed records on street luge and downhill skateboarding, so being cossetted deep in the bowels of a steel tube frame chassis is hardly scary for that guy, right?

In the afternoon the car rolled out with some freshly charged batteries and Mr. Hickey turned up the wick a few percentage points. The gauntlet was thrown down with a 217.562 mph run. That run was more than enough to provisionally break the E2 class record, and the team needed to back it up with a second run the next day.

At Bonneville, when you set a record, you need to put your car in overnight impound. You’re not allowed to do any work to the car, aside from refuel it, or in this case pack it with fresh batteries. If you don’t head to impound, or choose to attempt another run, your prior run is forfeited. While it was in impound, the EV West crew hauled in a new battery array on a portable gantry crane (above video) to swap for fresh electrons.

On Thursday morning the crew got the car out of impound. Impounded cars get the first option to run in the morning before the temperatures get too hot or the salt gets too rutted. As one of the first cars on the salt, the Electraliner backed up its record with an even faster run. While the official time sheets haven’t been posted to yet, and the record won’t technically count until then, reports from the salt confirm that the car ran a 219 mph backup run for a two-run average of 218.2 mph, or 5 mph over the previous record.

Technically there is another day of running on Friday, and the team could put together another run to set an even higher record. As it stands, however, the team has a new record and have joined the prestigious 200 mile per hour club by breaking a record over 200. If the car is indeed running at a very low percentage of its total power output, perhaps they’ll crank up the juice on Friday morning and we’ll be able to see exactly what this car is capable of.

Congratulations to the EV West crew, Hickey Speed, and everyone involved. History is happening every day. The electric revolution continues its incredible march toward motorsport domination, and I am so ecstatic to be alive to see it happening. This is the modern equivalent of the 1950s hot rod movement. Get amped!

Comments
Welcome to zzdcar comments! Please keep conversations courteous and on-topic. To fosterproductive and respectful conversations, you may see comments from our Community Managers.
Sign up to post
Sort by
Show More Comments
Racing
After Delivering 8 Seasons At The Back Of The Grid, Haas F1 Team Dumps Guenther Steiner
After Delivering 8 Seasons At The Back Of The Grid, Haas F1 Team Dumps Guenther Steiner
The partially North Carolina-based squad has determined that after , it needs to mix things up a little. The team’s firebrand has been following an abysmal 2023 season which saw the team score just four points-paying finishes. The team’s , where scored a fourth-place finish, but that season too...
Oct 25, 2024
Listen To In-Car Audio From Race Cars While You Work
Listen To In-Car Audio From Race Cars While You Work
If you follow racing in the U.S., you probably already know about the . Most of the episodes are too much of a distraction to put on as background noise while you work, but a couple of recent entries in his series have been working incredibly well for me....
Oct 25, 2024
Race Team Would Rather Create A Fake AI Woman Rather Than Hire A Real One
Race Team Would Rather Create A Fake AI Woman Rather Than Hire A Real One
In another unsurprising example of motorsport’s inhospitable mindset toward hiring competent women, the Racing team has announced a new partnership with Ava Rose, a literal , who will... engage with fans? Share knowledge about technology? “Navigate the cutting edge of innovation to create positive change” (whatever that means)? I...
Oct 25, 2024
You've Probably Never Heard Of The Coolest Canadian Car Ever Built
You've Probably Never Heard Of The Coolest Canadian Car Ever Built
Name a car from the early 1960s built by a famed racing driver with curvy, lightweight aluminum bodywork, a big American engine, and a reputation for being unruly and fast as all hell. Your first thought was probably the famed Shelby Cobra, did you know there was a who...
Oct 25, 2024
Local Businesses Want Compensation After Allegedly Losing Money During Formula 1 Las Vegas Grand Prix
Local Businesses Want Compensation After Allegedly Losing Money During Formula 1 Las Vegas Grand Prix
If you listen to Formula 1 or local officials from Las Vegas and Clark County, you’d probably think November’s inaugural Las Vegas Grand Prix was a success. Some sources estimated that the city of Las Vegas made over $1 billion in revenue from the event — but there were...
Oct 25, 2024
Get Ready To Spend All Your Money On Retro Formula 1 Merch
Get Ready To Spend All Your Money On Retro Formula 1 Merch
Fellow nerds, get ready to open your wallets, because I’ve found what may be the greatest store of all time. With designs from Formula 1 teams like , you’re sure to find something that fits your particular nostalgic niche. I’d like to introduce you to Racing Retro. I first...
Oct 25, 2024
Copyright 2023-2024 - www.zzdcar.com All Rights Reserved