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Not entirely a surprising move. In the days when the World Water Speed Record was contested using propeller driven boats, car and aircraft engines were the powerplants of choice. Once jet engines were allowed, speeds ramped up enormously to the current 318 mph set by Australian, Ken Warby in 1978. The current holder of the propeller driven World Water Speed Record is American Russ Wicks who set 205 mph in 2000.
Interesting that Jaguar chose Lake Coniston in Cumbria for the electric World Water Speed Record attempt. Englishman Donald Campbell died there in 1967 trying to break his own record and exceed 300 mph. The location has a lot of history for record attempts.
Televised live on the day, he was still giving commentary as his boat somersaulted at an estimated 318 mph. These record breakers are a unique breed.
What does surprise me with the electric World Water Speed Record is that they didn't immediately target the 100 mph barrier. That would have grabbed the headlines.
Electric has low end torque but it isn't great for high speed and then you have the weight of the batteries (and if the thing comes apart electricity and water doesn't mix well which could end up really badly for the pilot). High speed anything just isn't where the electrics shine. What continues to be weird is they (electrics) went Formula E before they went NHRA. The cars crush in drag races but the suck on road tracks, the Tesla's tend to overheat in one lap. One of the things that makes the iPace interesting is that you can track it, but it gives up the ultra fast 0-60 times as a result.
Jaguar Just Broke Electric Boat Speed Record
