Vector Electric Powered Model Car Speeds Past 200 Mph
We've just seen Nic Case's Bullet, an RC car that hit a record 188 mph. If you thought that was fast, then the miniature racing car Vector will redefine your definition of fast, running at a whooping 202 mph.
To be fair, these two small cars are in different leagues. While looking more like a bullet than the Bullet, the Vector is actually a tether race car, a type of model racing car that is tethered to a central pole instead of running freely along a straight track. While both cars are indeed electric-powered, a tether car isn't remote controlled.
The Vector is the masterpiece of Roger and George Phillips, who have been in the tether racing scene since the 70's. While most tether cars ran on miniature gas-powered combustion engines, the two thought up of making an electric-powered one. Thus began a long journey that started a "Green Machine" 3D model in 2007 to a near-perfect VoltsWagen establishing a world record in 2012 for a 170 mph run, to their final closed wheel electric tether car, the Vector.
Creating the Vector is, of course, not a simple job, one that took more than 8 months even for just the prototype. A fast running model car need not only have the proper aerodynamic design, but switching to an electric motor brought along its own share of problems. It all paid off, however. By mid-October, the Vector was running at 184 mph, surpassing the record set by its VoltsWagen predecessor exactly a year earlier. Then in November 10 it broke the 200 mph barrier and by November 16, 2013 it skidded to 202 mph. The video below shows that momentous occasion, though you can barely see the Vector and can only discern its presence by its sound.
While 200 mph isn't that unusual in the world of tether car racing, the Vector is the first electric powered model of its kind to do so. George and Roger are not yet done either. Safety regulations require that they use a heavier cable to tie the car, which will undoubtedly slow it down. And so their next mission is to bring the Vector up again to that coveted 200 mph mark, even with a heavier tether.
SOURCE: Vector Racing