In 1899, This Torpedo-Shaped EV Became the First Car To Hit 100 KPH

The electric car market is currently trying to catch up with the gasoline vehicle industry. While some EVs are impressively quick from 0 to 60 mph (97 kph), most of them can't match the top speed and mileage of internal combustion vehicles. As strange as it may sound right now, electric vehicles were quite popular in the late 1890s and early 1900s.

But several events led to their disappearance, starting with the introduction of the first mass-produced vehicles with internal combustion engines. The invention of the electric starter, the oil boom that made gasoline affordable, and the need for longer-range vehicles for the ever-expanding road system rendered EVs obsolete for several decades.

But before that happened, a rivalry between a French aristocrat and a Belgian driver spawned the world's first land speed records. And all were achieved in electric vehicles.

The first documented record dates back to December 1898, when French aristocrat Gaston de Chasseloup-Laubat drove his Jeantaud Duc to a top speed of 39.24 mph (63.15 kph) over one km (0.62 miles). His benchmark was improved by Belgian driver Camille Jenatzy, who reached 41.42 mph (66.66 kph), but Gaston recaptured his glory the same day by hitting 43.93 mph (70.69 kph).

Jenatzy refused to give up and returned to Acheres, France, only 10 days later, to drive his GCA Dogcart to a top speed of 49.93 mph (80.35 kph). Annoyed, Chasseloup-Laubat applied rudimentary streamlining to his Jeantaud Duc and raised the bar to 57.65 mph (92.77 kph) only a week later.

The publicity stunt between Jenatzy's manufacturing venture and Paris-based carriage maker Jeantaud came to an end in April 1899, when the former drove the La Jamais Contente to a whopping 65.79 mph (105.87 kph). It might not sound like a lot today, but it was a big deal back in 1899.

Not only the first car to exceed 60 mph (97 kph), but the La Jamais Contente was also the first vehicle of any kind to go beyond 100 kph (62 mph). The benchmark remained in place until 1902, when Leon Serpollet hit 75 mph (120.7 kph) in a steam-powered vehicle.

What's more, all land speed records that followed were achieved with either steam or internal combustion power, so the La Jamais Contente is the last EV to have set a speed record over one km.

So what exactly was this contraption called La Jamais Contente, which basically means The Never Satisfied? Well, it's gone into the history books as the first purpose-built land speed racer.

Designed by Camille Jenatzy and put together by carriage maker Rothschild, it was essentially a torpedo-shaped shell mounted on a rather crude chassis. The body was made from an alloy called partinium.

There's next to no info on this compound, but apparently, it consisted of laminated aluminum, tungsten, and magnesium. Most likely a then-new approach to lightweight composites.

The bullet-shaped carriage employed two 25-kW motors, each driving the rear axle via a chain. The combo delivered about 68 horsepower combined, but that's about as much as we know about Jenatzy's record-setting carriage.

The La Jamais Contente never evolved beyond the prototype stage and Jenatzy died in 1913 after being shot in a hunting accident. At the time, internal combustion cars had already taken over the automobile industry.

Is the original record car still around? Well, its whereabouts seem to be engulfed in mystery, but a replica of the La Jamais Contente is on display at the National Car Museum at Chateau de Compiegne, France.