Currently reading: UK electric land speed record broken

A battery-powered car called Nemesis has broken the UK electric vehicle speed record at 148mph

The UK land speed record for electric vehicles has been broken in a modified Lotus Exige named Nemesis.

The car, originally bought on eBay, has been converted to run on battery power alone. Over the two runs, driver Nick Ponting recorded an average speed of 148mph at Elvington airfield near York.

The record previously stood at 137mph.

The car was built by green energy company Ecotricity, who claim Nemesis can travel up to 150 miles between charges. 

Dale Vince OBE, founder of the company, said: “We built the ‘Nemesis’ to smash the stereotype of electric cars as something Noddy would drive – slow, boring, not cool.”

Sam Naylor

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