Up until 1902, every fastest car in the world was electric.
La Jamais Contente [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
In 1900, the land speed record was held by the Belgian racer La Jamais Contente. It was the first car purposefully designed to break the record. It was made of a unique alloy of tungsten, magnesium, and aluminium and shaped like a bullet (because bullets are fast). Even the car’s name was fast – it translates as “Never Satisfied.” And it was 100% electric.
This surprised me: there’s a long history of electric-powered vehicles. Every fastest car until 1902 was electric. The first non-horse-powered taxis in London were the Bersey electric cabs. At the turn of the century, more than 30,000 electric vehicles were on the streets of the United States – outnumbering gas-powered vehicles nearly 2 to 1. By 1910 you could swap out your empty batteries for new ones thanks to the Hartford Electric Light Company.
La Jamais Contente may have been the high point of the early electric car: it was the first vehicle to go faster than 100 kilometres per hour. By the 1920s, gas had won the day and electric cars stayed in the margins for the rest of the 20th century.
Categories: Economics & business History Modern history Sciences Technology
The Generalist
I live in Auckland, New Zealand, and am curious about most things.
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