Land speed records have been falling by the wayside at the Bonneville Salt Flats as another team has staked claim to an FIA world speed record. There’s a sense of familiarity with this team because it’s Venturi, the same outfit that has already broken the world EV speed record several times in the past. It did so in 2009 and again in 2010. Now it’s done it for the third time with the VBB-3 “Venturi Buckeye Bullet,” which hit a staggering average of 341 mph on its way to setting a ridiculous top speed of 358 mph at the Salt Flats.
To put things in perspective, the last time Venturi set the EV land speed record in 2010, it posted an average speed of 307 mph with the VBB-2.5. That was six years ago. The team, which is made up of a cooperation between the Monaco-based company and students from Ohio State University, had initially planned to use the VBB-3 as early as 2013, but those plans were scuttled by challenging weather conditions that prevented the team from making any clear runs. Even when the team got a chance to go for glory in 2015, it only managed to reach 240 mph, well short of its intended goal.
Speaking of that goal, its new FIA world speed record of 341 mph – average speed isn’t even the team’s real goal. It wants to hit 400 mph, which sounds ridiculous when you think about it but is actually within the sights of Venturi with the proper modifications placed on the carbon fiber-clad VBB-3. It’s hard to imagine a vehicle that already produces 3,000 horsepower and over 2,000 pound-feet of torque to pack even more power, but that’s the goal the team is striving for. Given how patient it was to wait three years before unleashing the VBB-3, there’s no stopping Venturi from achieving its goal of breaking the 400-mph barrier. When that’s going to be is the question.
Continue after the jump to read the full story.
from Top Speed http://ift.tt/2d4zDWu
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