Top speed: Drayson electric car races (very quietly) into record books

By Trevor Mogg June 26, 2013

While you might associate land speed records with the sound of roaring, thundering engines, the latest one, set by a team in the UK, was a positively peaceful affair.

It’s easily explained though, as Drayson Racing Technologies’ vehicle, which hurtled silently into the record books on Tuesday, is an electric car.

Recommended Videos

The Drayson B12 69/EV, which was converted from a Lola LMP1 Le Mans racer, reached a top speed of 204.2mph (328.6km/h) at a racetrack in Yorkshire, England, achieving a new land speed record for a vehicle in the sub-1,000 kilogram (2,200 pound) class. The previous record was 175mph (281kmh), set by the General Electric Battery Box in the US back in 1974.

Behind the wheel of the record-breaking EV was the boss of the company, Lord Drayson, who’s planning to enter the car in the 2014’s Le Mans 24 race in France. The self-declared ~~petrolhead~~ car nut said the race could function as “a challenging test bed” for technologies that could in the future make their way into regular road vehicles.

Speaking before Tuesday’s drive, Drayson said, “It’s a tremendous technical challenge but we believe it’s about time someone moved this record on to demonstrate just how far EV technology has come.”

Modifications to the Lola include the replacement of its bio-fuel Judd V10 with four electric motors. Powering these is a 20-kWh battery pack offering 850 horsepower, fitted inside a special cell which is part of the chassis. To minimize air friction, the chassis has been made with recycled carbon fiber.

The Drayson B12 69/EV can go from 0-60 mph in 3 seconds, and 0 to 100 in 5.1 seconds. In virtual silence.

While Drayson’s vehicle took the speed record for the sub-1,000 kilogram class, there is another EV that has traveled even faster – the Buckeye Bullet. The joint project of Ohio State University and Venturi, the sleek VBB-2.5 model of the Bullet set a new FIA-recognized record in 2010 when it powered its way to 307.58 mph.

Check out the video below to see the Drayson EV being put through its paces recently.

[via BBC]

Topics

Contributing Editor

Not so many moons ago, Trevor moved from one tea-loving island nation that drives on the left (Britain) to another (Japan)…

Cars

Tesla posts exaggerate self-driving capacity, safety regulators say

Beta of Tesla's FSD in a car.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is concerned that Tesla’s use of social media and its website makes false promises about the automaker’s full-self driving (FSD) software.
The warning dates back from May, but was made public in an email to Tesla released on November 8.
The NHTSA opened an investigation in October into 2.4 million Tesla vehicles equipped with the FSD software, following three reported collisions and a fatal crash. The investigation centers on FSD’s ability to perform in “relatively common” reduced visibility conditions, such as sun glare, fog, and airborne dust.
In these instances, it appears that “the driver may not be aware that he or she is responsible” to make appropriate operational selections, or “fully understand” the nuances of the system, NHTSA said.
Meanwhile, “Tesla’s X (Twitter) account has reposted or endorsed postings that exhibit disengaged driver behavior,” Gregory Magno, the NHTSA’s vehicle defects chief investigator, wrote to Tesla in an email.
The postings, which included reposted YouTube videos, may encourage viewers to see FSD-supervised as a “Robotaxi” instead of a partially automated, driver-assist system that requires “persistent attention and intermittent intervention by the driver,” Magno said.
In one of a number of Tesla posts on X, the social media platform owned by Tesla CEO Elon Musk, a driver was seen using FSD to reach a hospital while undergoing a heart attack. In another post, a driver said he had used FSD for a 50-minute ride home. Meanwhile, third-party comments on the posts promoted the advantages of using FSD while under the influence of alcohol or when tired, NHTSA said.
Tesla’s official website also promotes conflicting messaging on the capabilities of the FSD software, the regulator said.
NHTSA has requested that Tesla revisit its communications to ensure its messaging remains consistent with FSD’s approved instructions, namely that the software provides only a driver assist/support system requiring drivers to remain vigilant and maintain constant readiness to intervene in driving.
Tesla last month unveiled the Cybercab, an autonomous-driving EV with no steering wheel or pedals. The vehicle has been promoted as a robotaxi, a self-driving vehicle operated as part of a ride-paying service, such as the one already offered by Alphabet-owned Waymo.
But Tesla’s self-driving technology has remained under the scrutiny of regulators. FSD relies on multiple onboard cameras to feed machine-learning models that, in turn, help the car make decisions based on what it sees.
Meanwhile, Waymo’s technology relies on premapped roads, sensors, cameras, radar, and lidar (a laser-light radar), which might be very costly, but has met the approval of safety regulators.

Cars

Scout Traveler SUV vs. Rivian R1S: modern electric SUVs compared

Scout Motors Traveler SUV in a forest

Scout Motors has made a big comeback, now under the guidance of Volkswagen Group. Not only is the Scout brand being reinvigorated but it has already announced two new models in the form of the Scout Terra truck and the Scout Traveler SUV. The Scout Traveler SUV in particular is an interesting vehicle, but it has an uphill battle ahead of it thanks to competition from the likes of Rivian.

The Rivian R1S is often considered to be the best electric SUV out there right now, and while it's not cheap, it offers an excellent set of tech features, a long range, and more. So how does the Scout Traveler SUV compare with the R1S? We put the two vehicles head to head to find out.
Design
The exterior designs of the Scout Traveler and the Rivian R1S are similar in many ways, though there are some major differences. Both vehicles offer a relatively blocky shape characteristic of a traditional SUV. The Traveler is a little more traditional than the Rivian in that it has a spare tire on the back, which is both practical and gives it a rugged vibe.

Cars

Waymo, Nexar present AI-based study to protect ‘vulnerable’ road users

waymo data vulnerable road users ml still 1 ea18c3

Robotaxi operator Waymo says its partnership with Nexar, a machine-learning tech firm dedicated to improving road safety, has yielded the largest dataset of its kind in the U.S., which will help inform the driving of its own automated vehicles.

As part of its latest research with Nexar, Waymo has reconstructed hundreds of crashes involving what it calls ‘vulnerable road users’ (VRUs), such as pedestrians walking through crosswalks, biyclists in city streets, or high-speed motorcycle riders on highways.