Jaguar already competes in Formula E, but it couldn’t keep its racing activities confined to land. The British automaker teamed up with Vector Racing and Williams Advanced Engineering to set a new world speed record for electric boats.
The Jaguar Vector V20E electric racing boat achieved an average speed of 88.61 miles per hour over two passes at England’s Coniston Water, sight of numerous past water-speed record attempts, including one that took the life of famed British racer Donald Campbell. The record speed may not seem too impressive, but it’s nearly 12 mph faster than the previous record, set in 2008, according to Williams.
The three partners did not discuss technical details of the record-breaking boat, but Jaguar claims it used some technology from Formula E race cars. Williams Advanced Engineering is the engineering arm of the eponymous Formula 1 team and has supplied battery packs to the entire Formula E grid for every one of the series’ four seasons thus far.
Vector is a boat manufacturer and racing team founded in 2012. Jaguar became Vector Racing’s title sponsor last year. In a press release, the team said it plans to set additional records over the next 18 months, but did not offer any more details. It doesn’t look like Jaguar will start selling boats, but the collaboration should help bolster the automaker’s green credentials.
In Formula E, Jaguar currently sits fifth in the team standings while drivers Mitch Evans and Nelson Piquet Jr. are seventh and 10th in the driver standings, respectively. Jaguar’s sole all-electric production model is the recently-unveiled I-Pace crossover.