La Jamais Contente
Encyclopedia
Electric car
An electric car is an automobile which is propelled by electric motor, using electrical energy stored in batteries or another energy storage device. Electric cars were popular in the late-19th century and early 20th century, until advances in internal combustion engine technology and mass...
with a light alloy torpedo
Torpedo
The modern torpedo is a self-propelled missile weapon with an explosive warhead, launched above or below the water surface, propelled underwater towards a target, and designed to detonate either on contact with it or in proximity to it.The term torpedo was originally employed for...
shaped bodywork and with Fulmen batteries
Battery (electricity)
An electrical battery is one or more electrochemical cells that convert stored chemical energy into electrical energy. Since the invention of the first battery in 1800 by Alessandro Volta and especially since the technically improved Daniell cell in 1836, batteries have become a common power...
. The high position of the driver and the exposed chassis underneath spoiled much of the aerodynamics. The light alloy, called partinium, is an alloy of aluminum, tungsten
Tungsten
Tungsten , also known as wolfram , is a chemical element with the chemical symbol W and atomic number 74.A hard, rare metal under standard conditions when uncombined, tungsten is found naturally on Earth only in chemical compounds. It was identified as a new element in 1781, and first isolated as...
and magnesium
Magnesium
Magnesium is a chemical element with the symbol Mg, atomic number 12, and common oxidation number +2. It is an alkaline earth metal and the eighth most abundant element in the Earth's crust and ninth in the known universe as a whole...
.
The land speed record
Land speed record
The land speed record is the highest speed achieved by a wheeled vehicle on land. There is no single body for validation and regulation; in practice the Category C flying start regulations are used, officiated by regional or national organizations under the auspices of the Fédération...
was established on April 29 or May 1, 1899 at Achères, Yvelines
Achères, Yvelines
Achères is a commune in the Yvelines department in north-central France. It is located from the center of Paris.The commune of Achères lies on the south bank of the Seine in a loop of the river, on the edge of the Forest of Saint-Germain-en-Laye...
near Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. The vehicle had two direct drive Postel-Vinay 25 kW motors, running at 200 V drawing 124 Amperes each for about 68 hp, and was equipped with Michelin
Michelin
Michelin is a tyre manufacturer based in Clermont-Ferrand in the Auvergne région of France. It is one of the two largest tyre manufacturers in the world along with Bridgestone. In addition to the Michelin brand, it also owns the BFGoodrich, Kleber, Riken, Kormoran and Uniroyal tyre brands...
tires. Chassis number was n°25.
Driver
The vehicle was driven by the Belgian driver Camille JenatzyCamille Jenatzy
Camille Jenatzy was a Belgian race car driver. He is known for breaking the land speed record three times and being the first man to break the 100 km/h barrier....
. Camille was the son of Constant Jenatzy, a manufacturer of rubber
Rubber
Natural rubber, also called India rubber or caoutchouc, is an elastomer that was originally derived from latex, a milky colloid produced by some plants. The plants would be ‘tapped’, that is, an incision made into the bark of the tree and the sticky, milk colored latex sap collected and refined...
products (rubber was still a novelty at the time). Camille had studied as an engineer
Engineer
An engineer is a professional practitioner of engineering, concerned with applying scientific knowledge, mathematics and ingenuity to develop solutions for technical problems. Engineers design materials, structures, machines and systems while considering the limitations imposed by practicality,...
, with an interest in electric traction automobiles. He became known for his record-breaking speed runs, and was nicknamed Le Diable Rouge ("The Red Devil") for the colour of his beard. He died in 1913, after being shot in a hunting accident.
Motivation
Willing to carve a place in the then promising Parisian electric carriage market, Jenatzy started a manufacturing plant which would produce many electric carriages and trucks. He fiercely competed against carriage maker JeantaudJeantaud
The Jeantaud was a French automobile manufactured in Paris from 1893 until 1906. It was the brainchild of Charles Jeantaud, a coachbuilder who built his first electric carriage in 1881. Among the vehicles he constructed was the first car to set a land speed record , as well as coupes and hansom...
in publicity stunts to see which made the fastest vehicles. In order to assure the triumph of his company, Jenatzy built a bullet shaped prototype, conceived by the carriage maker Rothschild in partinium (an alloy of laminated aluminum, tungsten and magnesium).
Speed Record
Jenatzy reached the speed of 105.882 kilometres per hour (65.8 mph), besting the previous record, held by Count Gaston de Chasseloup-LaubatGaston de Chasseloup-Laubat
Count Gaston de Chasseloup-Laubat was a French race car driver. He is known for setting the first recognised automobile land speed record on December 18, 1898 in Achères, Yvelines, using a Jeantaud electric car....
, who had attained 92.78 kilometres per hour (57.7 mph) on March 4, 1899. After this exploit the gasoline
Gasoline
Gasoline , or petrol , is a toxic, translucent, petroleum-derived liquid that is primarily used as a fuel in internal combustion engines. It consists mostly of organic compounds obtained by the fractional distillation of petroleum, enhanced with a variety of additives. Some gasolines also contain...
-fuelled combustion engine
Combustion engine
Combustion engine may refer to:* Internal combustion engine* External combustion engine...
would increasingly supplant electric technology for the next century
Century
A century is one hundred consecutive years. Centuries are numbered ordinally in English and many other languages .-Start and end in the Gregorian Calendar:...
.
The Jamais Contente is now on display at the automobile museum in Compiègne
Compiègne
Compiègne is a city in northern France. It is designated municipally as a commune within the département of Oise.The city is located along the Oise River...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
.
See also
Other land speed record electric automobiles- Buckeye BulletBuckeye BulletThe Buckeye Bullet is the name of a series of student-built, alternative-fuel race cars created by The Ohio State University students led by Dr. Giorgio Rizzoni at the Center for Automotive Research...
(2004) - Keio University EliicaEliicaThe Eliica is a battery electric vehicle prototype or concept car first shown in 2004 and designed by a team at Keio University in Tokyo, led by Professor Hiroshi Shimizu. The car runs on a lithium-ion battery and can accelerate from 0– in four seconds...
(2004) - Venturi Jamais Contente (2010)