World’s fastest electric motorcycle hits 408 km/h
Image: courtesy of Venturi/Voxan Wattman via AFP Relaxnews
The Voxan Wattman is now officially the world’s fastest electric motorcycle. Ridden by former champion Max Biaggi, the Monégasque motorbike set no less than 11 new records on the track at France’s Châteauroux airport, momentarily reaching a speed of 408 kilometers per hour (254 miles per hour).
Speed records set by the Voxan Wattman include a new record for the “partially streamlined electric motorcycle over 300 kilos” class, at 366.94 kilometers per hour (228.05 miles per hour), shaving over 30 kilometers per hour off the previous record. In line with International Motorcycling Federation (FIM: Fédération internationale motocycliste) rules, this speed was measured from a flying start over one mile in opposite directions, within a period of two hours. It’s therefore an average speed, but the Wattman momentarily hit 408 kilometers per hour (254 miles per hour). The next objective is to aim for an average speed close to 400 kilometers per hour (249 miles per hour).
A non-streamlined naked version of the Voxan Wattman reached an average speed of 349.38 kilometers per hour (217 miles per hour), with a top speed of 372 kilometers per hour (321 miles per hour). The bike’s other records are for speeds reached over a quarter of a mile (around 400 meters), 1 kilometer and 1 mile (1.609 kilometers), from flying and standing starts.
For the occasion, the bike was helmed by the Italian rider, Max Biaggi, a former 250cc world champion (from 1994 to 1997) and Superbike world champion (in 2010 and 2012). He has been a Venturi group ambassador since 2018.
Unveiled at the 2013 Paris Motorcycle Show, the Wattman ultimately failed to find its audience among bikers, and Voxan went into liquidation in 2015. While the manufacturer is no more, Venturi, the brand’s last owner, hopes to revive it through this record attempt. JB
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