''La Jamais Contente'' ( en, The Never Contented) was the first road vehicle to go over . It was a Belgian
electric vehicle
An electric vehicle (EV) is a vehicle that uses one or more electric motors for propulsion. It can be powered by a collector system, with electricity from extravehicular sources, or it can be powered autonomously by a battery (sometimes cha ...
with a
light-alloy torpedo
A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, and with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, su ...
-shaped bodywork and
batteries
Battery most often refers to:
* Electric battery, a device that provides electrical power
* Battery (crime), a crime involving unlawful physical contact
Battery may also refer to:
Energy source
*Automotive battery, a device to provide power t ...
. The high position of the driver and the exposed chassis underneath spoiled much of the aerodynamics. The light alloy, called partinium, is a mixture of
aluminium
Aluminium (aluminum in American and Canadian English) is a chemical element with the symbol Al and atomic number 13. Aluminium has a density lower than those of other common metals, at approximately one third that of steel. I ...
,
tungsten
Tungsten, or wolfram, is a chemical element with the symbol W and atomic number 74. Tungsten is a rare metal found naturally on Earth almost exclusively as compounds with other elements. It was identified as a new element in 1781 and first isolat ...
and
magnesium
Magnesium is a chemical element with the symbol Mg and atomic number 12. It is a shiny gray metal having a low density, low melting point and high chemical reactivity. Like the other alkaline earth metals (group 2 of the periodic ta ...
.
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 ...
was established on 29 April or 1 May 1899 at
Achères, Yvelines
Achères () is a commune in the Yvelines department in north-central France. It is located from the centre 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 ...
near
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
,
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
. The vehicle had two Postel-Vinay 25
kW motors, each driving the rear axle via a chain, running at 200
V and drawing 124
A each,
for about 68
hp total, and was equipped with
Michelin
Michelin (; ; full name: ) is a French multinational tyre manufacturing company based in Clermont-Ferrand in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes ''région'' of France. It is the second largest tyre manufacturer in the world behind Bridgestone and la ...
tires
A tire (American English) or tyre (British English) is a ring-shaped component that surrounds a Rim (wheel), wheel's rim to transfer a vehicle's load from the axle through the wheel to the ground and to provide Traction (engineering), t ...
. The chassis was number 25.
Driver
The vehicle was driven by the
Belgian
Belgian may refer to:
* Something of, or related to, Belgium
* Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent
* Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German
*Ancient Belgian language, an extinct language ...
driver
Camille Jenatzy
Camille Jenatzy (1868, Schaerbeek – 8 December 1913, Habay la Neuve) 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.
He was nicknamed ''Le ...
. Camille was the son of Constant Jenatzy, a manufacturer of
rubber
Rubber, also called India rubber, latex, Amazonian rubber, ''caucho'', or ''caoutchouc'', as initially produced, consists of polymers of the organic compound isoprene, with minor impurities of other organic compounds. Thailand, Malaysia, and ...
products (rubber was still a novelty at the time). Camille had studied as an
engineer
Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the l ...
, with an interest in electric-traction automobiles. He became known for his record-breaking speed runs and was nicknamed ("The Red Devil") for the colour of his beard. He died in 1913, after being shot in a hunting accident.
Motivation
Wishing 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 competed fiercely against the carriage-maker
Jeantaud
The Jeantaud was a make of French automobile manufactured in Paris from 1893 until 1907. It was the brainchild of Charles Jeantaud, a coachbuilder who built his first electric carriage in 1881. Among the vehicles he constructed was the firs ...
in publicity stunts to see which of them made the fastest vehicles. In order to ensure 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 , besting the previous record, held by Count
driving a Jeantaud, who had attained on 4 March 1899. After this exploit the
gasoline
Gasoline (; ) or petrol (; ) (see ) is a transparent, petroleum-derived flammable liquid that is used primarily as a fuel in most spark-ignited internal combustion engines (also known as petrol engines). It consists mostly of organic co ...
-fuelled
combustion engine would increasingly supplant electric technology for the next
century
A century is a period of 100 years. Centuries are numbered ordinally in English and many other languages. The word ''century'' comes from the Latin ''centum'', meaning ''one hundred''. ''Century'' is sometimes abbreviated as c.
A centennial or ...
.
The ''Jamais Contente'' is now on display at the automobile museum in
Compiègne
Compiègne (; pcd, Compiène) is a commune in the Oise department in northern France. It is located on the river Oise. Its inhabitants are called ''Compiégnois''.
Administration
Compiègne is the seat of two cantons:
* Compiègne-1 (with 19 c ...
,
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
.
See also
*
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 ...
; Other land speed record electric automobiles
*
Buckeye Bullet
The Buckeye Bullet is a series of four experimental electric cars created by students from Ohio State University ( the Buckeyes) as a joint project with Venturi. The cars were designed to break the land speed record on the Bonneville Speedway, a ...
(2004)
*
Keio University Eliica (2004)
*
Venturi Jamais Contente (2010)
References
External links
*
National car and tourism museum in Compiègne
{{portal bar, Automobile, Belgium
Electric land speed record cars
Electric vehicles introduced in the 20th century
Belgian inventions