Filed under: EV/Plug-in, UK, USA, Racing, Videos



When you're royalty, you can associate yourself with things as cool as the world's most powerful electric car, and that's just what Prince Albert of Monaco is doing. The Prince, along with Princess Charlene, made the trek out to the Beehive State to make a photo appearance with the Venturi VBB-3 at Wendower airfield. He was probably hoping to get a quick drive of the 3,000-horsepower rocket on wheels, but that was not meant to be.

Venturi Automobiles and Ohio State University (the "BB" in VBB stands for Buckeye Bullet) have been collaborating on the high-speed EV project since 2009, and had brought the car to Utah to do some FIA-sanctioned high-speed runs at the nearby Bonneville Salt Flats. They claim the VBB-3 is "most powerful, fully electric car ever built," but all that power can't make a safe speed run when the ground is wet. Unfriendly weather conditions didn't stop the team from hosting the Prince at the car's world premiere, though. The sleek needle is nicknamed Jamais Contente, French for either "never satisfied" or "completely nuts," and it harkens back to a speed demon of yesteryear.

Until halted by the rain, Venturi and OSU had been hoping to break the 600-kilometer per hour (373-miles per hour) barrier with the battery-powered electric vehicle, well above their own 2010 record of 291 mph. Their visions of hitting 373 mph will have to wait until next year, though, as will the ultimate target of getting above 400 mph. The team broke the 300-mph barrier back in 2009 when the car was powered by hydrogen fuel cells. Check out the videos and press release below.Continue reading Prince Albert unveils Venturi VBB-3, world's most powerful EV [w/videos]

Prince Albert unveils Venturi VBB-3, world's most powerful EV [w/videos] originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Fri, 27 Sep 2013 10:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.



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