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Bengt Halvorson

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Buckeye Bullet 2.5 (2010)

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Who said electric vehicles have to be slow? A team from Ohio State University's Center for Auto Research has set a new speed record for a battery-powered vehicle: 307.7 mph.

Earlier this week at Bonneville Salt Flats, piloted by Roger Schroer, the car easily broke the standing record for a battery-powered vehicle, 245.5 mph, and on a single pass even hit 320 mph, according to the team's blog. However, it's still waiting for certification from the Federation Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), reports the New York Times.

The team's former Buckeye Bullet 2 version, also an EV but hydrogen-fuel-cell-powered, had reached nearly 303 mph in 2009.

Although essentially the same body that the team has run the past several years, the car is completely new, taking advantage of a new partnership with EV maker Venturi, and is now powered by A123 Systems lithium-ion batteries rather than hydrogen fuel cells. With a new Buckeye Bullet 3 that's in the works, the team will construct an all-new body and is considering four-wheel drive.

[New York Times]