WIRED NextFest Report: Ohio State's 300+ mph electric car
The very first exhibit just beyond the turnstiles at WIRED's NextFest was Ohio State's 31-foot long, 2-foot wide electric car named the Buckeye Bullet. Its claim to fame: the fastest electric car in the world.
In May 2000, a group of engineering students at Ohio State began building an electric land speed record car and spawned what became know as the Buckeye Bullet project. Since 2002, they had been making routine trips to the famed Bonneville Salt Flats to take a crack at the electric land speed record. The only difference now is that the record to break is their own. The Buckeye Bullet currently holds a national record of 314.958 mph and an international record of 271.737 mph.
The car is less than 3 feet tall, but houses a 500 horsepower 3-phase AC motor and a 900-volt NiMH battery system. The braking on the other hand, is handled by 4 cross-drilled disc brakes and 2 parachutes.
I asked John Neal, graduate student on the project, what was next in store for the Buckeye Bullet team. He couldn't give me many details, but he said their next project is to build a land speed fuel cell car that will top 350 mph. For now, they're simply referring to the new project as the Buckeye Bullet 2.
More information about the Buckeye Bullet can be found at www.buckeyebullet.com.
More pictures of the Buckeye Bullet after the jump.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
lucid 10:33AM (10/02/2006)
So how is this ohio state? All I see are pics of virgina tech! (link looks right though)
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Derrick Y. Noh 10:52AM (10/02/2006)
Sorry, there was some sort of mapping issue with the pics. In any case, they should be correct now.
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