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)-May 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
Science Experiments And Climate Tourism With Extreme E
Science Experiments And Climate Tourism With Extreme E
It was raining as I, along with the rest of Extreme E’s Arctic X Prix crew, first stepped onto Greenland’s ice sheet. It was a rare occurrence, some of our local guides told us, something they’ve only seen a handful of times in their lives, but not impossible. What...
May 24, 2026
Kyle Larson Takes NASCAR Cup Series Regular Season Victory
Kyle Larson Takes NASCAR Cup Series Regular Season Victory
Hendrick Motorsports No. 5 driver Kyle Larson has made one hell of a comeback after his enforced absence from the NASCAR Cup Series after his usage of a racial slur. Since his return, Larson has scored five wins and nine other top-five finishes — and that saw him take...
May 24, 2026
This Day In History: American F1 Champion Phil Hill dies
This Day In History: American F1 Champion Phil Hill dies
Phil Hill didn’t seem like the type of guy who would become a successful race car driver. As he put it in The Cruel Sport, “I’m in the wrong business. I don’t want to beat anybody, I don’t want to be the big hero. I’m a peace-loving man, basically.”...
May 24, 2026
F1 Officially Revises The Rest Of The 2021 Calendar
F1 Officially Revises The Rest Of The 2021 Calendar
Formula One has officially revised the remainder of its 2021 calendar to take into consideration the fact that the changing COVID-19 situation has necessitated some cancellations and additions. The season will still see 22 races held this season. Many races have remained their original dates, including Zandvoort, Monza, Sochi,...
May 24, 2026
Extreme E's Arctic X Prix Qualifying Characterized By Frequent Car Failure
Extreme E's Arctic X Prix Qualifying Characterized By Frequent Car Failure
The first qualifying session kicked off with the slowest team from Friday’s practices session starting first. That meant Veloce Racing hit the track, with the two drivers completing successful runs and immediately topping the charts. That would prove to be a rare feat in a fraught qualifying session, with...
May 24, 2026
Touring Extreme E's Arctic X Prix Track
Touring Extreme E's Arctic X Prix Track
Driving to Extreme E’s Arctic X Prix track from Kangerlussuaq, Greenland means you descend upon it from above. The paddock, start, and finish of the 5-mile (8.1-kilometer) circuit takes place in a sandy scar carved out of the tundra by a glacier that would have run through the mountains...
May 24, 2026
Copyright 2023-2026 - www.zzdcar.com All Rights Reserved