On August 22nd, at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah, USA, Venturi’s Buckeye Bullet 3 (VBB-3) vehicle, piloted by Roger Schroer, recorded an average two-way speed of 212.615 miles per hour (342.170kph) over a flying mile. The new record is in the FIA’s Category A Group VIII Class 8 for electric vehicles over 3.5 tonnes.

The Venturi team and its partner, the Center for Automotive Research (the Ohio State University) had travelled to Bonneville in pursuit of the highest FIA world land speed record for an electric vehicle of 307.58mph (495kph), set by its own VBB-2.5 in 2010, but their efforts were hampered by violent storms that hit the region in the weeks leading up to the attempt.

Despite the weather leading to the cancellation of this attempt, the team remained in Utah to make other attempts over a scaled-down four-day timeframe. It was during this period of running that the new record was set.

Presenting Venturi Automobiles with official certification of the new record, FIA President Jean Todt said: “I would like to congratulate Venturi Automobiles and its partners on setting this new record for an electric vehicle. Given the unprecedented conditions under which the team had to operate securing this new benchmark is a fantastic achievement and I’m sure that in the future they will return to make another attempt on the outright record they are seeking.”

Gildo Pallanca Pastor, Venturi's president, accepted the award: "I would like to thank the FIA and its President, Jean Todt, as this Trophy is a great honor. This summer the Venturi VBB-3 gave us a glimpse of its enormous potential. We will therefore be back in Bonneville in 2015, with the highly ambitious objective of surpassing 600km/h as our priority. With its 3000 HP, the Venturi VBB-3 is the most powerful electric car in the world today. It must demonstrate that it can even be the fastest."