Jaguar Sets Speed Record for Battery-Powered Boat

The Jaguar Vector racing team has set a new world speed record for a battery-powered boat with a new 2-km course average of 77.0 knots. The previous electric-boat speed record, 66.7 knots, had held for 10 years; the official world water speed record for any means of propulsion is 276.0 knots, and it has held since 1978.  

This week, the Jaguar Vector's V20E boat recorded an average speed of 88.61 mph on two legs of the 1-km course on Coniston Water, England, a common venue for speed record attempts. “After 12 months of hard work, this is a fantastic result for the team and our partners," said Malcolm Crease, CEO of Jaguar Vector Racing. "It is a great honour for the Vector team to follow in the footsteps of Donald Campbell CBE and to set a world record on the historic Coniston Water.” Donald Campbell was an eight-time world speed record holder who perished at Coniston Water during an attempted run in 1967. 

The small but powerful all-electric V20E was built by Jaguar Vector and Williams Advanced Engineering, which provided battery, motor and control systems. Jaguar Vector co-founder and technical director Peter Dredge piloted the V20E, and the team intends to attempt further world and national records over the next 18 months.

For the V20E project, Williams Advanced Engineering deployed Formula E electric racecar technology for the design of the propulsion system. The firm provided all teams with batteries for the first four seasons of the FIA Formula E race series, and it was a contributor to the Jaguar C-X75 hybrid supercar, among other electric-power projects.