Skip to main content

Electric dragster

Two British brothers have built an electric drag racer capable of hitting 100km/h in just 1.6 seconds.
February 24, 2012 Read time: 1 min
Two British brothers have built an electric drag racer capable of hitting 100km/h in just 1.6 seconds. The vehicle, which uses the chassis and some bodywork of a 1965 VW Beetle, has won the recent Alternative Energy Racing event, held at the UK's Santa Pod drag racing strip in Northamptonshire. The car is powered by no less than 60 12V motorcycle batteries and its builders believe they will be able to improve on its fastest recorded time of 10 seconds over a measured 400m. Although this competition vehicle is not for use on the road, its capabilities highlight the performance of electric vehicles and in spite of its early generation technology.

Related Content

  • Safety barriers improve highway safety
    July 3, 2012
    Highway safety could yet improve using available technology more widely Safety barriers still offer huge opportunities to improve accident statistics worldwide. There is a wide array of products on the market to suit all types of installation and with a diverse range of solutions for each application. Highway authorities have been installing barriers for many years now and the technology continues to improve, however an analysis of accident statistics shows that barriers offer further potential. Details fr
  • US road safety is a cause for concern
    September 6, 2021
    There is concern over a worrying trend in US road safety, while there have been steady gains in road safety in Europe
  • Estonia surveys major roads with a RetroTek-M retroreflectometer
    May 22, 2019
    During the past two years, Estonia’s Road Administration has clocked up 4,021km during a retroreflectivity project on all main state roads and on basic roads. Estonia’s Road Traffic Development Department of the Estonian Road Administration has been working with ERC Consulting to gather retroreflectivity data on road markings on all main state roads and basic roads. The work has shown that out of 1,609km of main state roads, 20% had problems. The reflective effect is created by glass beads on the surf
  • The old bamboo
    July 6, 2012
    A Japanese designer has developed a battery powered vehicle that features bodywork, seating and floor made from bamboo. The vehicle offers a 50km range and is reputed to weigh just 60kg (it is not clear if this includes battery weight although it seems unlikely). The diminutive single seater also has bodywork that is 100% biodegradable. Crash testing results have not been announced for the vehicle so far, although bamboo's flexibility means that it may well offer good shock absorbing properties. However dri