Mission 01:
Jamais Contente

The fastest electric car in the world

The Challenge

The opening chapter of the Venturi Global Challenges, Mission 01: Jamais Contente is a programme aimed at setting new speed records for electric vehicles. It is named after the first ever automobile to break the symbolic 100 km/h mark: a torpedo-shaped electric car named Jamais Contente. Driven by Camille Jenatzy, it achieved a speed of 105 km/h in 1899, setting a world record for any method of propulsion (steam or petrol).

Venturi designed its own version of that iconic record-breaking car, the Venturi Jamais Contente, also dubbed the VBB, in reference to the Venturi Buckeye Bullet team, a group of students from the Ohio State University who helped to develop the vehicle. The VBB is a worthy successor to the original pioneer of 1899, successively beating its own world speed records on the famous salt flats of Bonneville in the USA.

The VBB-2, a hydrogen fuel cell-powered version, broke the 487 km/h (303 mph) mark in 2009. The following year, the VBB-2.5, an upgraded version with an electric battery pack, reached 495 km/h (307 mph). Finally, in 2016, the VBB-3 – the most advanced electric version of the vehicle with 2,200 kW (3,000 HP) of power – set a new FIA-certified world record of 549 km/h (341 mph) that still stands today.

The Vehicle:

Propulsion

Engine : Electric motor

Battery Pack : Lithium iron phosphate – 2,000 cells

Transmission : Four-wheel drive

Performance

Max. power : 2,200 kW (3,000 HP)

Max. torque : 2,800 Nm

Characteristics

Body : Carbon fibre

Length : 11.35 m

Width : 1.06 m

Weight : 3.5 tons

The Driver

A driving instructor and test driver at the Transportation Research Center (Ohio, USA) for over 30 years, Roger Schroer is Venturi’s official driver for electric vehicle speed record attempts.
A professional speed driver, Roger is a member of the exclusive 300 mph Club, which includes the sixty drivers in the world to have exceeded that speed (482.8 km/h).