The Venturi VBB-3 has claimed a new land speed record for an electric vehicle after setting an average flying mile at the Bonneville salt flats of 341.1 mph (549.43 km/h).
The Monaco based company teamed up with the Center For Automotive Research from the Ohio State University in yet another assault on Bonneville where it first set an electric car world record of 307 mph back in 2010.
The VBB-3 was built in the first half of 2013 but because of poor weather at the salt flats the last three years, no record attempts were made.
This year, Roger Schrorer from the Transportation Research Center in Ohio jumped behind the wheel and set the new record in accordance with the FIA’s regulations. On a seperate one-way run, a top speed of 358 mph (576 km/h) was reached. For a record to be claimed, the average of two runs in the opposite direction is calculated and becomes the verified top speed.
According to Venturi’s owner Gildo Pallanca Pastor, “It’s a relief because we were waiting for this result for 3 years. Heavy rain and bad weather conditions on the Salt Flats prevented our success. VBB-3 is the most powerful electric car in the world (3000hp). We had to demonstrate that it was also the fastest. It’s done by breaking our own record achieved with the VBB-2.5 in 2010. It shows also that our partnership between students and a manufacturer can bring a lot in this new automotive industry in terms of research and development.”
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