Electric car may top 300 mph — on Nev. highway

A British team will try to break the speed record for an electric car that has 52 batteries and no mechanical gears.

Nevada agreed to shut down a state highway Thursday for the torpedo-shaped car's attempt to top 300 mph.

The record is 245 mph, set by an American team using a similarly streamlined car powered by thousands of "AA" batteries. That record was set in 1999 on Utah's Salt Flats, which are too wet at this time of year for speed racing, forcing the test onto pavement.

Britons Mark Newby and Colin Fallows already have accelerated their car to 146 mph in just 1,000 yards — the longest, safest distance available to them in England. They say the test showed they can easily beat the world record.

The car uses compact, industrial motors and drives made by Swiss engineering company ABB Ltd.

Newby, a pilot who does acrobatic maneuvers, will drive the car on its speed attempt. Fallows, a retired Royal Air Force propulsion technician, designed the car. Both assembled the vehicle in a barn in the English countryside using their own time and money from home equity loans.

"This isn't a moneymaking proposition," ABB spokeswoman Trina Foster said. "They're just two quirky Brits who like to go fast."

The "e-motion" car has no mechanical gears, which are useful for acceleration but limit torque at top speeds. The car, using a variable speed transmission, is designed to top 300 mph on a pair of motors than can turn out 500 horsepower — as much as the 2005 Chevrolet Corvette with a 7-liter, V8 engine.

The record-breaking attempt is scheduled for 9 a.m. Thursday, weather cooperating. The ABB car can be blown off track by crosswinds, but mornings in the Nevada desert usually bring light winds.

Nevada will shut down a 12-mile stretch of state Route 93A about 25 miles south of Wendover. On this stretch, Newby will drive eight miles of near perfectly straight, flat road.

He will make two runs; after the first, mechanics will replace the batteries and turn around the car for a second run. The speeds of each run will be averaged by agents for the Federation Internationale de L'Automobile, the motor sports governing body that will impound the car for an inspection after the attempt.