Watch this Batmobile-style EV smash a speed record

A unique electric car has broken the speed record at the 2022 Goodwood Hillclimb track, an annual demonstration of racing vehicles in the UK.

Driven by ex-F2 driver Max Chilton, the so-called McMurtry Spierling set a new record of 39.08 seconds on the 1.86km course. This shaved off about 0.8 seconds from the previous record holder, the Volkswagen ID.R.

And, for your enjoyment, here’s footage of the Spierling smashing the record:

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The 90s Batmobile-like design isn’t the only distinct element of the Spierling. The race vehicle is also a fan car — an additional technology that motorsport hasn’t seen in quite some time.

A fan is mounted underneath the car, which sucks out air from beneath and pushes it out of the vehicle’s rear, working somewhat like a vacuum. This results in an incredibly efficient downforce — 2,000kg to be exact.

And the best part? This downforce doesn’t scale with speed, it’s available at any pace thanks to the fan’s operation.

Speaking of speed, the Spierling is impressively fast. It accelerates from zero to 60mph in 1.5 seconds, and it hit 241km/h during the race.

Here’s Thomas Yates, founder of McMurtry, sharing further information about the car’s specs:

If you already love the Spierling, you’ll be glad to know that a production version is already in the works. God, I can’t wait.