The electric vehicle Venturi VBB-3

The electric vehicle Venturi VBB-3

The previous and current year was a bad time for racing on the bottom of a dried-up salt lake Bonneville Salt Flats. A large amount of water spilled during the heavy rains, made hard and smooth salt wet, loose and uneven. Conditions for the races were so bad that racing competition is not the Bonneville Speed Week is held for the second year in a row. However, the Venturi team from Ohio did not wait for "with the wind" and last week they made the race their electric car VBB-3, which produced results that are very far from the expected, but which, nevertheless, sufficed to establish a new speed record.

Bad conditions on the surface of the salt prevented the car VBB-3, the engine power which is equivalent to 3 thousand horsepower, could accelerate to its maximum speed. The producers of this racing car was expected that he would be able to reach speeds of 440 mph (710 km / h), instead the car could only accelerate to 240.32 miles per hour (386.8 kilometers per hour), which is a new world speed record for electric vehicles of this class. And now the team is awaiting confirmation from the FIA, then the set will become the official record in the category electric vehicles weighing over 3.5 tons.

The electric vehicle Venturi VBB-3

Poor conditions allowed the riders to prepare the track, with a length of only 10 miles instead of 12 miles, which are used in traditional record races. This track is conventionally considered safe for racing, but the salt was wet and dirty, and the track was covered with small potholes and bumps. The traffic on this road has caused a strong vibration which caused the failure of some mechanical and electrical components of the electric VBB-3.

The most serious damage during the race, which led to his termination, was the crack of the tank with the refrigerant. Leaked through a crack in the coolant, the red spot on the second of these shots was the cause of the pressure drop in the cooling system of the power electronic components that have begun to overheat, which made it impossible to continue to gain speed and continued record-setting run.