Jetta 1.4 hybrid tops 300km/h
2012-10-24 08:41
SMASHING RECORDS: The specially prepared Volkswagen Jetta broke a speed record set by a similar Jetta in August 2012.
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As previewed at the Detroit Motor Show, Volkswagen will soon hit the market with a hybrid version of its popular Jetta sedan.
BONNEVILLE SALT FLATS - A record-smashing lap by a specially prepared VW Jetta has put the mid-range petrol-electric hybrid car on the list of speed machines.
The car at some point exceeded 300km/h but its overall average top speed of 299km/h at the Bonneville Salt Flats in the US state of Utah, was 30km/h faster than the previous record set by a similar Jetta in August 2012.
The vehicle is powered by a 1.4-litre engine turning out 112kW mated to a 20kW electric motor, with combined output being 223kW.
MODIFIED FOR SPEED
The car used in Bonneville is a parallel hybrid, which means the electric motor and petrol engine can work together to drive the car rather than the engine acting solely as a generator to produce electric power.
For the salt-flats runs the standard Jetta was fitted with lowered suspension, low-profile tyres and underwent a number of aerodynamic modifications.
Marc Trahan, quality control chief with VW America,said: "This was a genuinely fascinating project which allowed our engineers to extract the maximum from the complex hybrid components in a short time in order to achieve this record."
The record-breaking car was driven by Carlos Lago, a tester with the US magazine Motor Trend.
Watch the video that shows the modifications done to the car to achieve the speed record:
