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Lord Drayson has talked of the “terrific but extremely lively” experience of smashing the world electric land-speed record.
The former science minister turned racing driver reached a top speed of 204.2mph (328.6km/h) in his Drayson B12 69/EV electric Le Mans prototype at a racetrack at RAF Elvington in Yorkshire. He beat the previous 175mph record, which had stood for nearly 40 years.
Drayson said that the outstanding performance of the vehicle, and the widespread interest it provoked, proved that “the future of motorsport was electric”.
A large amount of simulation had been carried out before the record attempt, and Drayson said that the car had performed as predicted. But the bumpy surface at the airfield made for a testing driver experience. “Stability was not as great as it might have been,” he said.
“The surface was cracked in places. That meant the car was moving around a lot. It was extremely lively, and my head was moving all over the place. But it was a terrific experience.”
Drayson said that the record-breaking speed had only been possible after his team of engineers had carried out relatively late-stage changes to the aerodynamic package of the car. The front splitter was reworked to give less downforce and less drag. Modifications were made to the rear wing and rear wheel arches. The front wheels were also fitted with carbon covers to alter the balance of the vehicle.
Throughout the record attempt, a 20kW magnetic induction wireless system from Qualcomm Halo was used to recharge the car. This saw energy transferred between components in the ground and the underside of the vehicle. Drayson said the Qualcomm Halo system had allowed quick, safe recharge during the record-breaking attempt, but that he wanted to see it developed from a static to a dynamic technology.
“We are already looking at how it might be used to charge while the car is moving,” he said. “You could have several pads spaced apart, and the car could pick up a charge as it ran across them.”
Anthony Thomson, vice president of business development and marketing at Qualcomm, said development of a dynamic charging system was already under way. “The current system originated from wireless-on-the-move technology. So we have a lot of experience in that area,” he said.
Drayson said that breaking the world electric land-speed record had acted as a showcase of what is possible with an electric drivetrain.
He now plans to focus on the emerging field of electric racing, competing in the new FIA Formula E championship, which starts next year.
Meanwhile, the growing interest in high-performance electric vehicles has been underscored by Nissan’s development of an electric racing car that uses the same lithium-ion battery technology as the Nissan Leaf.
The car, known as the Zero Emission On Demand Racing Car or ZEOD RC, will race at next year’s Le Mans 24-hour race.
Andy Palmer, executive vice-president of Nissan, said: “Nissan has become a global leader in the development of zero-emission automotive technology and the Nissan ZEOD RC will allow us to further develop those capabilities using the toughest endurance race in the world as a mobile test bed.”
He added: “The technologies developed through the ZEOD RC programme will form part of future innovations for Nissan road cars.”
Nissan will trial new variants of electric drivetrain technologies. A pure electric-powered car will be tested, as well as an on-demand option that will allow the driver to switch between electric and petrol-powered drive and other new technologies that are still in development. Nissan said the process would provide data to evaluate potential powertrains of the future for the racetrack and the road.
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