An electric boat built from the ground up for maximum power has blazed past the 100-mph (161-km/h) barrier, and posted a new world record in the process. Vision Marine’s V32 catamaran recently took to the waters at the Lake of the Ozarks to leave all comers in its wake, setting a new benchmark for electrified performance watercraft.
Last year, Vision Marine opened up reservations for an all-electric outboard motor called the E-Motion 180E, looking to offer boating enthusiasts a quieter way to skim across the water without compromising on power. Billed as the world’s most powerful electric outboard, the 180-hp unit spins out 288 lb-ft (390 Nm) of torque and was promptly scooped up by Miami-based outfit Hellkat Powerboats with the aim of building the world’s most powerful electric boat.
The V32 catamaran is the product of this partnership and was built for a tilt at the world’s fastest electric boat title. It is an all-electric adaptation of Hellkat’s existing 32-ft (9.8-m) Fulgura 1 Super-Sport wide body catamaran, but features a hull purposefully designed to house battery banks big enough to power a pair of E-motion 180E motors at the rear.
At the Lake of the Ozarks shootout, a charity powerboat racing event that took place at the end of August, the V32 took to the water with acclaimed powerboat racing driver Shaun Torrente at the helm. In powering through the 100-mph barrier and onward to a top speed of 109 mph (175 km/h), the V32 has surpassed the previous speed record for an electric boat of 88 mph (142.6 (km/h), set over 1 km (0.62 miles) by Jaguar Vector Racing in 2018.
“It has been an amazing experience to push the boundaries of what people thought was impossible,” said Torrente. “In the past two days, we proved that the limits of electric propulsion are only in the minds of those that have not followed Vision Marine and our project. With this result, they cannot pretend we are not here anymore.”
An immersive 360-degree video of the record-setting run can be viewed below.
Source: Vision Marine
