389.219 km/h killajoule electric sidecar rewrites speed records

389.219 km/h killajoule electric sidecar rewrites speed records
image courtesy of bonnevillestories.com

the ‘killajoule‘ built and driven by eva håkansson, became the fastest electric sidecar by reaching a top speed of 389.219 km/h and rewrote several more records at bonneville motorcycle speed trials. the EV achieved a two-way average of 387.328 km/h (pending official certification by AMA) and broke john stege’s previous record by 40 km/h. this new velocity record also made the mechanical engineering PhD student the world’s quickest female on a motorbike. the car is a hobby project worked on together with her husband bill dube and was manufactured in their two-car garage over the past five years.

the 19ft EV’s battery is charged using wind power in colorado or by a hybrid bio-diesel generator when on the racetrack, and the main purpose of it is to show that eco-friendly doesn’t mean slow and boring. with a fiberglass composite nosecone body made by nova kinetics aerosystems, the materials used for the 1540lb vehicle shows how it was designed for high speeds. it also features a chrome-molly steel tube frame with ‘springer’ style leading link front and classic stereo suspension for the rear end. the crew of the most rapid motorcycle at the event included her partner bill, sven håkansson, mike stockert, alicia kelly and kent singleton.

front view of the home-built electric sidecar
image courtesy of anthony olway/TTxGP

side view of the motorcycle whilst at high speed
image courtesy of scooter grubb

the killajoule’s crew
image courtesy of killacycle racing

the univeristy of denver student, eva kneeling besides her record car
image courtesy of killacycle racing

image courtesy of phil hawkins

image courtesy of phil hawkins

image courtesy of killacycle racing

[h/t] hybridcars