One important highlight from exactly 10 years ago is the land speed record achieved by the Drayson Racing Team, recording a speed of 204.2mph for an electrically powered car in June 2013. This was achieved at the former RAF Elvington base in Yorkshire, in a modified Le Mans car, and resulted in giving electric-powered motor racing a boost and improved credibility at a crucial moment.
An important contributor to this success was Carter Manufacturing whose engineering knowledge and experience proved to be pivotal in helping the Drayson Racing team achieve this milestone. Both Carter Manufacturing and the Drayson Racing Team are located in the heart of the UK’s specialist motorsports location in Oxfordshire, so were ideally placed to develop a successful collaboration at a time when the development of electric cars was in its infancy.
The project started when Lord Drayson, former Science Minister, businessman and racing driver, called Karl Brundell, MD of Carter Manufacturing, to request engineering and product support to achieve the goal of building the world’s fastest electric car. Lord Drayson was actually behind the wheel of the Drayson B12 69/EV electric Le-Man’s Prototype, when the existing speed record of 175mph, which had stood for nearly 40 years, was smashed by 29.2mph.
Read the full article in DPA's December issue