Battery Box Electric Dragster - 174 MPH
using lead acid batteries in 1974
The 1974 Battery Box
is a home-built car with streamlined bodywork for the driver and rear wheels and
open front wheels. Roger Hedlund created this vehicle to attack the World Speed
Record for electric-powered vehicles. Using the latest technology at the time in
both motor/battery combinations and vehicle design, Roger from Sunnyvale,
California, achieved his goal in 1974 at the Bonneville National Speed Trials.
The car's speed for a two-way average over a measured mile was 174.918 mph.
This electric sprint car was designed to use 32 12-volt batteries, hooked up in
series, but the record run was made with 28 batteries giving 336 volts to turn
the motor. The GE motor was cooled by a fan from a car heater system, which
pulled fresh air through the motor housing.
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