The Venturi Buckeye Bullet 3 (VBB-3), developed by the Monaco-based firm Venturi Automobiles and the engineering students of The Ohio State University, hit an average speed of 341.4 miles (549.43 kilometers) per hour, beating the previous best of 307.6 mph set by the VBB-2.5 in 2010.
There goes VBB3 on the second leg of this morning's record attempt. venturi BulletSuit Tg2taD5a6I
— Spacesuit Media (@Spacesuit_Media) September 19, 2016
Driven by Roger Schroer, the VBB-3 — dubbed as the ‘bullet car’ — clocked a top speed of 358 mph during the run on Monday. The record is still to be confirmed by the Federation Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA).
“I each time enjoyed driving the car and achieving this performance. But at those speeds you have to focus on your task not on your emotions. I know we can go further. This week the track was good. No main vehicle instability. Much better than the last days during tuning and testing. We always have to be patient and wait for the track to be ready,” said Schroer, a veteran driver from a transportation research center based in Ohio.
Venturi VBB3 the world’s most powerful Ecar is getting ready 2go back 2its favorite scenery, saltflats sept 5TLW6sGrHZ
— @Venturi Automobiles (@venturi) July 21, 2016
The 11-meter VBB-3, built in the first half of 2013, was supposed to run in September 2013 but several record attempts were cancelled owing to the severe weather conditions in Utah the last three years. To achieve the new world record, Schroer must finish within an hour on two runs of the 11-mile course.
Venturi owner Gildo Pallanca Pastor said VBB-3 is not just the world’s fastest electric car but the most powerful as well. The vehicle is equipped with power electronic systems and an automated transmission.
venturi VBB3 doing some testing at TRC preparing for Bonneville! 9EmlVVFSzE
— TRC Inc. (@TRCPG) September 6, 2016
Pastor said the latest record only showed the significant achievement the partnership between the Venturi Automobiles and The Ohio State University produced in the automotive industry “in terms of research and development.”
Part of the team that built the VBB-3 was a group of 10 undergraduate and graduate students at The Ohio State University Center for Automotive Research. They spent at least six years designing and building the electric streamliner through the expertise and significant sponsorship funding from Venturi.
The vehicle is powered by two megawatts of lithium ion batteries manufactured by A123 Systems and has two custom electric motors developed by Venturi. It is the latest of electric racing vehicles built at the center, which boasts of a 22-year history of electric car racing.
“The progress made this year is a very important step in the quest to reach the 400 miles per hour goal,” said Giorgio Rizzoni, the advisor of the team’s faculty and director of the center.
“The support of Venturi and of numerous other industry partners is recognition of this program’s value in producing the next generation of engineers. As always, team members have a bright future in the automotive industry.”
