Drayson Racing has increased the World Electric Land Speed Record for sub-999 kg cars during official FIA-sanctioned runs at Elvington Airfield in Yorkshire, England.

The prototype electric racing car driven by Lord (Paul) Drayson achieved a two-way average speed of 205.139 mph over the measured mile and 333.271 kph over the measured kilometer on the 3 km long Elvington runway. The car reached an unofficial maximum speed of 219.1 mph / 352.6 kph during the runs in difficult, windy conditions, according to GPS data.

This speed also represents a new British Land Speed Record over the measured mile for cars of any propulsion type driven by their wheels.

The Drayson Racing team also submitted the car to FIA-sanctioned timed acceleration runs, setting a new World Electric Record from a standing start over a quarter mile with a time of 9.742 seconds and a top speed of 92.383 mph.

“We are continuing the testing and development programme of our electric drivetrain technology and we are delighted with the results achieved today,” said Lord Drayson. “Drayson Racing is a laboratory for novel EV technology such as the high power Qualcomm Halo wireless charging system, testing it to the most extreme level, and that’s why we do this.  The engineering challenge of accelerating a 995 kg electric car to these speeds and then stopping in time on such a short runway is pretty intense, but it’s a great proving ground for our technology. It’s also an exciting way of demonstrating what’s possible with a state of the art electric vehicle.”

When the Drayson Racing team last ran the car at Elvington in June, it was still accelerating hard at the braking point on the runway. The Drayson team spent the summer refining the car’s electric drivetrain, and chassis partner Multimatic made further aerodynamic adjustments to reduce drag and further increase the car’s performance.

Source: Drayson Racing