When the Electric RaceAbout first took to Germany’s Nürburgring Nordschleife last month, the results were promising but hardly overwhelming. In its first bridge-to-gantry record attempt, the Progressive Insurance Automotive X-Prize contender chalked up a time of 9:08 minutes, making it faster than a Mini E prototype but slower than a gasoline-powered Chevy Cobalt SS.
That didn’t discourage the team behind the Metropolia Electric RaceAbout, who knew that the car was capable of higher speeds and lower lap times. As the video below shows, the Electric RaceAbout now holds the lap record for a road-legal electric car on the Nürburgring Nordschleife, running from bridge to gantry in just under 8:43 min.
That’s a 25-second improvement, which is very impressive considering that gains on the Nordschleife are usually counted in tenths of a second. That makes the Electric RaceAbout faster than a gasoline-powered Volkswagen Scirocco 2.0 TSI, and just a tick slower than a first-generation Lotus Exige.
The Electric RaceAbout produces just over 400 peak horsepower from its four electric motors, fed by a 33-kWh lithium-titanate battery pack. The car is built of carbon fiber composite for both strength and light weight, and is capable of hitting a top speed in excess of 150 miles per hour.
The Electric RaceAbout was built for the Progressive Insurance Automotive X Prize competition by students and faculty of Helsinki Metropolia University of Applied Sciences in Finland. There are no plans for production at this time.
