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Black Current electric drag Beetle smashes Veyrons, world records

The Tesla Roadster may be regarded as the king of electric sprint cars, but a 1965 Volkswagen Beetle, modified to run on batteries, could show it a thing or two.

Rory Reid
2 min read

The Tesla Roadster may be regarded as the king of electric sprint cars, but a 1965 Volkswagen Beetle, modified to run on batteries, could show it a thing or two. The customised car, dubbed Black Current, has clinched a world record for covering 400 metres in less than 10 seconds.

The electric dragster, which according to the Daily Mail uses parts from an old milk float, has a frankly terrifying 0-60mph time of just 1.6 seconds, meaning it would leave far more exotic cars for dead in a straight line race. For reference, the Bugatti Veyron, widely regarded as the daddy of high-speed sports cars, achieves 0-60mph in a sluggish 2.6 seconds.

Its maker, Olly Young, and his driver brother Sam, created this high-speed monstrocity at their workshop in Berkshire -- the home of Charlie Brooker, Chesney Hawkes and Ali G. They fitted the car with an 80kW motor, which drives the rear wheels, and hooked it up to 60 (count 'em) 12V, 50C, 500mAhr motorcycle batteries mounted under its front bonnet.

Under their guidance, Black Current achieved a blistering quarter mile time of just 9.5 seconds, securing top spot in the Zero Emissions category at the annual Alternative Energy Racing tournament at Santa Pod, earning a world speed record for electric cars in the process.

"We started off with a VW Beetle without an engine," Olly said. "There happened to be a milk float next to it so we joined up the two. We've just made improvements year on year, until we got to where we are now. The secret is time, effort, trial and error and plenty of research. We will try to keep making the car even lighter and more powerful to make it even faster."

As with most things mental, Black Current is a labour of love so don't expect to be able to buy one for yourself any time soon. That said, we're hoping larger manufacturers take note of Olly and Sam's efforts and create electric cars that continue to  give their petrol-powered counterparts a run for their money on the track.

Hit play on the video below to see Black Current in near-silent, yet blisteringly quick action.