UK Electric Car Land Speed Record Challenged

As electric vehicles are getting a tighter and tighter grip on the automotive world, people willing to take these new machines to new levels of performance keep appearing. And what better way to demonstrate the viability of such vehicles than trying to break one or two land speed records.

Don Wales, the man who some ten years ago set the land speed record for electric cars, has gotten tired of waiting. For ten years, he has been waiting for a worthy challenge which never came. But now, as the world embraces the EVs, he's done waiting.

Wales is determined to have another shot at setting the highest speed for an electric powered vehicle in the UK. He plans to break his own speed record (139 mph, 223 km/h) next year. He also plans to shatter the chances of all others of setting a new record in 2012, when he plans to buzz away at speeds of a heart-stopping 500 mph (804 km/h).

“At last the world is making real progress with electric vehicles as a viable alternative to the internal combustion engine,” said Wales according to The Telegraph.

“Ten years ago electric vehicles were unheard of in the news and people couldn't understand the importance of electric car technology. Now there is a whole new generation of electric road cars in production."

For next year, Wales plans to break, or at least match the speed achieved by his grandfather, Malcolm Campbell, in 1925.

"I want to set the UK record well beyond 150mph, the speed Sir Malcolm clocked in 1925,” he said. "Ideally I'd like to match his record of 1927 - 175mph."