EV Makes History, Breaks 200 MPH in the Quarter Mile
If you have a chip on your shoulder about electric vehicles, this ought to help brush a little closer to the sleeve.
For the first time in history, and EV (that isn’t a motorcycle) posted a quarter-mile trap speed above 200 mph, setting a new world record. Built by Huff Motorsports, the all electric dragster recently zipped down Tucson Dragway in Arizona, posting a speed of 201 mph and destroying the previous record set by racing legend Don Garlits last year.
Garlits managed a respectable 7.235 seconds at 189 mph when he streaked across Palm Beach International Raceway, but Steve Huff felt confident he could surpass that if he continued adding power to his car. Contentment came when the dragster, appropriately named “Current Technology,” had its brushless A/C motor producing well over 1,950 horsepower and 1,000 lb-ft of torque.
According to InsideEVs, Huff spent the winter months working on the car, patiently waiting for an opportunity to run it for the explicit purpose of breaking 200 mph. And break it he did, despite not making it down the track any sooner than Garlits had managed — but that wasn’t really the point.
At the track, tech wizards from AEM helped boost power even further between runs and optimized the car to pick up the maximum amount of speed possible once the tires hooked up. Footage of the event was shared by CycleDrag, an outlet that’s covered Huff’s drag bikes in the past, which offered a little more insight into the record-winning run in its description:
It was a historic night at Tucson Dragway as Steve Huff became the first four-wheel electric dragster racer to record a 200 mph pass, beating his childhood hero and rival “Big Daddy” Don Garlits to the mark. The electric drag racing milestone was achieved on Huff’s second full pass after doubling the power of his electric drag car over the winter and getting some help from the electronics experts at AEM.
While a far cry from the 300+ mph trap speeds provided by top fuel dragsters, this is a major leap forward for EVs. It may also offer Mr. Huff more than just glory, as he eventually wants to “redefine the NHRA by creating safe, economical, and low maintenance dragsters” based loosely off the car he’s running now. Those rear-engined rails are supposed to cost around $60,000, utilize a turbocharged, 2.0-liter crate engine, and be marketed toward those who are just starting to take drag racing seriously.
[Image: CycleDrag/ YouTube]
A staunch consumer advocate tracking industry trends and regulation. Before joining TTAC, Matt spent a decade working for marketing and research firms based in NYC. Clients included several of the world’s largest automakers, global tire brands, and aftermarket part suppliers. Dissatisfied with the corporate world and resentful of having to wear suits everyday, he pivoted to writing about cars. Since then, that man has become an ardent supporter of the right-to-repair movement, been interviewed on the auto industry by national radio broadcasts, driven more rental cars than anyone ever should, participated in amateur rallying events, and received the requisite minimum training as sanctioned by the SCCA. Handy with a wrench, Matt grew up surrounded by Detroit auto workers and managed to get a pizza delivery job before he was legally eligible. He later found himself driving box trucks through Manhattan, guaranteeing future sympathy for actual truckers. He continues to conduct research pertaining to the automotive sector as an independent contractor and has since moved back to his native Michigan, closer to where the cars are born. A contrarian, Matt claims to prefer understeer — stating that front and all-wheel drive vehicles cater best to his driving style.
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Don't know why they bothered. Just put a Tesla AWD Model S in Super Paranoid Plaid mode, turn on the A/C and do 210 mph quarters all day long. Ahem. First time I saw AA Fuelie dragsters was at the opening of our new dragway in Nova Scotia in the summer of '69. The guys got three owner/drivers up from New England as a promotion. The fellow who ran fastest was interviewed over the PA and all he could talk about was our local beer! He was way off what you'd read about in Hot Rod Magazine at 7.83 seconds and 189 mph - still got the old program i wrote on. But the sound was hellacious -- in those days they claimed 12 to 15 hundred horsepower. The Winter Nats in California earlier that year were at 6.9 seconds and 220 mph with Front Engine dragsters. Those old bricks and ancient tire technology would shut down this EV no problemo. The national ET record itself was 6.43 seconds and speed 229 mph, not at the same time. A big yawn on the electric drag racing front from me, I'm afraid. I worked at an electric utility for most of my life and the problem you're going to have in any fast EV is the size (ampacity) of the wiring (conductors) and the voltage. You need scads of both to get real power. To get anywhere to actually impress anyone, you'd need a three phase 5 kilovolt battery, a few thousand amps capability and insulation in the wiring and three phase motor(s) to actually handle it. The electronic controller design would be "fun". Not easy or practical. And not much reason to do it because the idea presumably of drag racing, is SPECTACLE. A whirring motor and tortured tires doesn't raise the excitement level of anyone but a nerd.
Somewhere in EV blogland,there are dudes poo-pooing this dragster because it's not a Tesla.