2206kW battery car set for record run

The Venturi crew at Wendover airfield in Utah. Third, fourth, fifth and sixth from right are Princess Charlene and Prince Albert II of Monaco, Venturi boss Gildo Pallanca Pastor and driver Roger Schroer.
It looks like it has more in common with a wingless aircraft than a motor vehicle, but this needle-nosed carbon-fibre missile on wheels is actually the Venturi VBB, the world's most powerful electric car.
And quite soon, if Venturi boss Gildo Pallanca Pastor has his way, it will also be the word's fastest electric car.
Now powerful, you ask? Try two electric motors with a combined output of 2206 kW and 2200 Nm, powered by a lithium-ion-phosphate battery made up of 2000 'pouch type' cells, giving the third-generation 'Jamais Contente' a theoretical top speed of more than 600 km/h.
The VBB-3 is a joint venture between Monaco-based Venturi Automobiles - a world leader in high-performance electric vehicles and the holder of the world land speed record for battery cars at 495km/h, set in 2010 - and Ohio State University, that began in 2009.
FIRST TEST RUNS
The new car was scheduled to make its first public appearance - and its first test runs - on the famous Bonneville salt flats in Utah early in September, but bad weather washed out all activity on the salt, so the team moved to nearby Wendover airfield for an eight-day series of tests.

These culminated in an official visit by patron Prince Albert II of Monaco and Princess Charlene, for the official launch of the world land speed record attempt, which is seen as a real-world test bench for future electric mobility.
AND THE NAME?
'Jamais Contente' ('Never Satisfied' in French) was the name of the battery-powered electric car in which Belgian Camille Jenatzy became the first person to drive at more than 100km/h on 29 April 1899.