LA JAMAIS CONTENTE, 1899

The origins of the Land Speed Record, it turns out, are not lost in the mists of time. Back in 1898 a journal named

La France Automobile staged a competition which caught the attention of two Parisian companies. Jeantaud was an established maker of horseless carriages, while Belgian engineer Camille Jenatzy had just opened a plant and was keen to make a name for himself. In the space of fve months from December 1898, the two pushed the record from 39.24mph to 57.59mph. Then Jenatzy unveiled his trump card, the world’s frst purpose-built record car, La Jamais Contente. Shaped like a torpedo and powered by two 34bhp electric motors, it covered the fying kilometre at an average of 105.88kmh (65.79mph). And yes, it was electric. So was the Jeantaud. As you can read in our supplement, electric cars have come a long way since, but this is where they started. Faster than a G-Wiz, too.