Drayson Racing set new electric car speed record

Drayson Racing has set a new electric car speed record with a two-way run in Elvington recording an average speed of 204.185mph.

Last month we reported that Lord Paul Drayson’s Drayson Racing were plotting an attack on the world land speed record for an electric car. And they’ve cracked it.

In a two-way run at Elvington, Yorkshire, Lord Paul Drayson – Drayson Racing’s CEO and former science minister – was behind the wheel of the Drayson B12 69/EV as it completed two mile long runs in the space of an hour to record an average – and new World Record (for its class) – of 204.185mph.

The new world record breaks the old record, which has stood for nearly 40 years, by 29mph and is just the start for the Drayson Racing team as they seek to break more records in the EV realm.

It’s all good news for Drayson – and EVs in general – and a good way to demonstrate that EVs can be quick and interesting – and promote the research and development business of Drayson.

Paul Drayson said of the new world record:

I’m delighted we’ve beaten the record tonight and can show the world EVs can be fast and reliable. Drayson Racing is a laboratory for EV technology, testing it to the most extreme level, as we’ve seen today.

It is not the outright speed of 203mph that is most impressive about this record, but the engineering challenge of accelerating a 1000kg electric vehicle on a short runway over a measured mile. However I’ve got a great team and world-class partners, such as QualcommHalo, Michelin, Multimatic and Cosworth.

And he’s right to be chuffed; electric motorsport does offer a lot of promise, with instant torque providing lots of interest and short runs not troubling battery capacity too severely.

Toys, local delivery vehicles and urban commuter cars. All perfect applications for EVs – as long as the price is right.