The 100-kilometer barrier was first broken by an electric vehicle 126 years ago

Despite the rise of eco-mobility in the last decade, there were many more electric car manufacturers in the world more than a century ago than there are today. At that time, hundreds of companies in Europe were competing in the young and still unorganized automotive market, which (as incredible as it may sound) was initially dominated by electric vehicles, not gasoline-powered ones. Since France was a pioneer in the production of lead-acid batteries (and, accordingly, electric vehicles) in the late 19th century, Belgian racing driver Camille Genatzi took advantage of this trend and created his own electric car factory. To advertise his company in a spectacular and unappealing way, he built an eccentric-looking prototype with which he planned to achieve the unthinkable, conquering the 100 km/h barrier piese auto online.

The 100-kilometer barrier was first broken by an electric vehicle 126 years ago

It is a torpedo-shaped electric car, the body of which is made of laminated aluminum, tungsten and magnesium alloy, a very expensive and lightweight material that has never been used in automotive construction before. It is equipped with two Postel-Vinay direct-drive motors with a capacity of 25 kW, which produce a power of about 68 horsepower, and special tires are made by Michelin. The name of the record-breaking car is La Jamais Contente, which means "Never Satisfied" in French.

According to various sources, on April 29 or May 1, 1899, in Achères near Paris, Genaty reached 105.882 km/h, thus breaking the previous record of 92.78 km/h set by Count Gaston de Chasloux-Luba. Such a result was unimaginable for his time, since only four years earlier the maximum speed on the roads did not exceed 30 km/h. Doctors did not believe that the human body could withstand driving at 100 km/h, but Genaty proved them wrong.

He describes his experience as follows: "The car you are riding in seems to lift off the ground and rush forward like a projectile ricocheting off the ground. As for the driver, the muscles of his body and neck tense, resisting air resistance, his gaze is focused on a single point, far away on the horizon, all his senses are alert."

However, automotive engineers are puzzled that neither then nor in the following years did racing car designers massively adopt the aerodynamic shape of Zhenatsi's car, which had proven its effectiveness...

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It is a torpedo-shaped electric car, the body of which is made of laminated aluminum, tungsten and magnesium alloy, a very expensive and lightweight material that has never been used in automotive construction before

According to various sources, on April 29 or May 1, 1899, in Achères near Paris, Genaty reached 105