118 years ago, on April 29, 1899, the car for the first time overcame the speed limit of 100 kilometers per hour. Moreover, it was a car with electric motors. Belgian race car driver Kamil Zhenatzi, nicknamed the "red devil", in an electric car called "La Geme contane" accelerated to 105 km / h, setting a new world speed record for mechanical trackless self-propelled vehicles. The name of the electric car can be translated as "Constantly dissatisfied" or "Always dissatisfied" - a kind of frivolous Gallic humor.
Interestingly, the previous record, held by a French aristocrat, Count Gaston de Chasslu-Loba and also set on an electric car, lasted less than two months. Chasslu-Loba reached a speed of 92 km / h on an electric car of the "Zhanto" company on March 4, 1899. The result of Zhentatsi and his "eternally dissatisfied" was a little more persistent, it remained relevant for three years.
It is no less interesting to note the fantastic acceleration of technological progress in the 19th and 20th centuries. Indeed, in order to reach a speed of 100 km / h, mankind needed tens of thousands of years of development, and over the next several decades this figure was exceeded by more than 100 times, allowing spacecraft to overcome Earth's gravity. To be fair, it must be said that the first mechanical means of transportation to reach a speed of 100 km / h was the English high-speed steam locomotive "Iron Duke", which set this record back in 1850.
On the splash screen - Camille Zhenatzi (indeed, there is something demonic in his appearance) in the cockpit of La Geme contan. The car looked very original, especially by the standards of the 19th century. There were no decorative elements in it, and the streamlined aluminum body, similar to a torpedo or a rocket, would seem to provide the car with excellent aerodynamics.
However, open chassis elements, engines, and most importantly - the driver himself, negated all its advantages. The car achieved its result not due to its aerodynamic shape, but exclusively thanks to two rather powerful electric motors, which developed a total of 68 horsepower. Each motor was directly driven by one rear wheel.
The "La Geme contan" had no practical meaning and was a purely record product, since the capacity of its batteries was only enough for a few kilometers, and before each run the batteries had to be charged for more than two hours. But it played its full role as a symbol of the scientific and technological revolution.
La Jamet Contane, decorated with ribbons and flower garlands after a record run.
One of the modern museum replicas of the Zhentatsi electric car. The original has not survived.
An electric car from the firm "Zhanto", whose record was broken by "always dissatisfied".
The Iron Duke steam locomotive is the first man-made object to reach a speed of 100 km / h.
