La Jamais Contente

The first road vehicle to go faster than 100 km/h was electric. In spring 1899, at Achères outside Paris, the Belgian driver Camille Jenatzy took this torpedo-shaped car to about 105.9 km/h, or nearly 66 mph. Its streamlined body was made of partinium, a light alloy of aluminum, tungsten and magnesium. The record made a point that is easy to forget: at the dawn of motoring, electric power was not only for gentle town driving, it could be the fastest thing on wheels.