Friday 23rd August 1974
Roger Hedlund, driving the Battery Box, set a land speed record for electric automobiles of 175 mph at the Bonneville Salt Flats, Utah, US. The home-built steamlined electric sprint car was designed to use 32 12-volt batteries, hooked up in series, but the record run was made with 28 batteries giving 336 volts to turn the motor. The GE motor was cooled by a fan from a car heater system, which pulled fresh air through the motor housing.