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The Buckeye Bullet is a series of four experimental electric cars created by students from
Ohio State University The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best publ ...
( the Buckeyes) as a joint project with Venturi. The cars were designed to break the
land speed record The land speed record (or absolute land speed record) is the highest speed achieved by a person using a vehicle on land. There is no single body for validation and regulation; in practice the Category C ("Special Vehicles") flying start regula ...
on the
Bonneville Speedway Bonneville Speedway (also known as the Bonneville Salt Flats Race Track) is an area of the Bonneville Salt Flats northeast of Wendover, Utah, that is marked out for motor sports. It is particularly noted as the venue for numerous land speed rec ...
, a salt flat just outside
Wendover, Utah Wendover is a city on the western edge of Tooele County, Utah, United States. The population was 1,115 at the 2020 census. Description Wendover is on the western border of Utah and is contiguous with West Wendover, Nevada. Interstate 80 runs ...
,
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
. The team first achieved its goal in October 2004, at for the one mile world record, repeatedly increasing the record until setting a mile world record of , in 2009, and a one kilometer world record of , in 2016. The VBB's have also been called the Venturi "Jamais Contente", referencing the first electrically powered vehicle to top 100 km/h.


Buckeye Bullet Team

The Buckeye Bullet team is composed of students from
Ohio State University The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best publ ...
, primarily through the College of Engineering. Led by Dr. Giorgio Rizzoni, the team is provided research space from the Center of Automotive Research at the university.


Vehicles

All Buckeye Bullet vehicles have been electrically powered, with power coming from either batteries or hydrogen fuel cells.


Buckeye Bullet 1

The Buckeye Bullet 1 is a battery electric powered land speed race car, and the first from the Buckeye Bullet team. The Buckeye Bullet 1 held the record for the world's fastest electric car, with a top recorded speed of 321.834 mph (517.942 km/h). It held the U.S. electric
land speed record The land speed record (or absolute land speed record) is the highest speed achieved by a person using a vehicle on land. There is no single body for validation and regulation; in practice the Category C ("Special Vehicles") flying start regula ...
at 314.958 mph (508.485 km/h) (Class III/E). It set a BNI (non-FIA) recognized international record at 271.737 mph (437.318 km/h) on October 3, 2004. Vehicle properties *Power source: 10,000 rechargeable c-cell batteries *Motor: Custom 400
horsepower Horsepower (hp) is a unit of measurement of power, or the rate at which work is done, usually in reference to the output of engines or motors. There are many different standards and types of horsepower. Two common definitions used today are t ...
(300 kW) 3-phase AC power motor *Layout: rear-wheel drive *Body material:
carbon fiber Carbon fiber-reinforced polymers (American English), carbon-fibre-reinforced polymers (Commonwealth English), carbon-fiber-reinforced plastics, carbon-fiber reinforced-thermoplastic (CFRP, CRP, CFRTP), also known as carbon fiber, carbon compo ...
*Ride height/ground clearance: 1.5 in (38 mm) *Curb weight: 4000 lb (1814 kg) *Length: 31 ft (9.4 m) *Suspension: 4 wheel independent Team The 2004 Buckeye Bullet team members from Ohio State are team leaders Isaac S. Harper, Andrew L. Marquand, and Benjamin J. Sinsheimer; team members Kevin C. Sze, Sean M. MacGregor, Aaron M. Haliena, Joseph H. Gorse, Andrea J. Barger, Michael B. Quade, Kimberly A. Stevens and Kevin Ponziani; faculty adviser Giorgio Rizzoni, staff adviser Maria Soliman, and the vehicle’s driver, Roger Schroer of TRC, Inc.


Buckeye Bullet 2

The Buckeye Bullet 2, or BB2, was the second-generation, student-built, alternative-fuel race car created by the Buckeye Bullet team. It is the first hydrogen
fuel cell vehicle A fuel cell vehicle (FCV) or fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV) is an electric vehicle that uses a fuel cell, sometimes in combination with a small battery or supercapacitor, to power its onboard electric motor. Fuel cells in vehicles generate e ...
land speed streamliner. It is front-wheel drive. The Buckeye Bullet 2 ran for the first time at Speedweek 2007 and recorded a top speed of 223.334 mph (359.421 km/h) on Oct. 10, 2007. At Speedweek 2008, the BB2 eclipsed its previous mark by reaching 286.476 mph (461.038 km/h), the highest speed ever recorded by a hydrogen/fuel cell vehicle at that time. On September 25, 2009, the Buckeye Bullet 2 set international land speed records both at 303.025 mph (487.672 km/h) in the flying kilometer and 302.877 mph (487.433 km/h) in the flying mile.


Buckeye Bullet 2.5

The Buckeye Bullet 2.5 was a battery electric version of the Buckeye Bullet 2. The BB2.5 uses the same frame and body as the Buckeye Bullet 2, but replaces the fuel cell power source with batteries. The BB2.5 raced for only one season in 2009. This vehicle was intended to be a testbed for several new technologies in consideration for use on the Buckeye Bullet 3. The most significant technology under consideration was the lithium ion batteries. The batteries used for the BB2.5 were A123 Systems 32113 cylindrical cells. The vehicle was able to set a FIA sanctioned world record at 307.666 mph
(495.140 km/h).


Buckeye Bullet 3

The Buckeye Bullet 3 is the final iteration of the project, building on the technology of the previous vehicles. It is 4-wheel drive and has a drag coefficient of 0.13. The car has separate powertrains for each axle, with the cockpit in the center. Each powertrain has two electric motors driving a 2-speed transmission, built by Hewland. 1st gear can be used up to 275mph. On September 19, 2016, the Buckeye Bullet 3 achieved a new world record with a speed of 341.4 mph (549.43 km/h), beating its own previous record of 308 mph (495.14 km/h). Roger Schroer was the driver for the record breaking run.


See also

*
List of vehicle speed records The following is a list of speed records for various types of vehicles. This list only presents the single greatest speed achieved in each broad record category; for more information on records under variations of test conditions, see the specific ...


References


External links

*
The Buckeye Bullet HomepageThe Buckeye Bullet BlogThe Ohio State University College of EngineeringVideo of the Buckeye BulletCenter for Automotive Research
(CAR).
About the VBB Program
{{Ohio State University, research Electric land speed record cars Wheel-driven land speed record cars Ohio State University Streamliner cars