A British team has set a new world record after its lightweight electric powered car touched the top speed of 328.6 km per hour.

Drayson Racing Technologies broke the world land speed record for a lightweight electric car as its Lola B12 69/EV vehicle surpassed the previous top speed of 281.6 kph at a Royal Air Force base in Yorkshire.

Company chief executive Lord Drayson, who was behind the wheel, said the achievement was designed to highlight electronic vehicle technology’s potential.

The previous 281.6 kph record was set by Battery Box General Electric in 1974, the ‘BBC News’ reported.

“What it, I hope, shows to people is just what the future potential of electric cars is,” Lord Drayson said shortly after his record-breaking time was confirmed.

“It is a pointer to the future — the technology that we developed for this car will filter down to the cars we use every day,” he said.

In order to qualify for an attempt on the Federation Internationale de l’Automobile’s (FIA) world electric land speed record, the team had to make its vehicle weigh less than 1,000kg without the driver.

To do this, it adapted a Le Mans Series car it had previously designed which originally had a bio-ethanol fuel engine and replaced the part with a lightweight 20 kilowatt hour battery offering 850 horsepower.

The team also adapted the vehicle’s chassis, which is made out of recycled carbon fibre, to minimise air friction.

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