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Driving in go-karts is a really fun way of spending an afternoon or a weekend, and as with almost everything in life, they come in all shapes and sizes.
While your typical shopping mall go-karting venue usually rents out single-seaters that have a power output anywhere between 2 and 10 hp, there are people out there who make a living out of racing go-karts on circuits all over the world, even as adults.
In other words, these small little four-wheelers that marked the beginning of many Formula 1 world champions’ careers can be feisty little beasts, albeit usually powered by internal combustion engines.
And here’s where Latvian-based Blue Shock Race comes into play, with its all-electric go-kart lineup that offers everything from kid-focused 2 hp motors to a 44 hp option that managed to set a new speed world record, the company claims.
The lightly modified production go-kart powered by a 25-kilowatt electric motor reached a top speed of 101.3 miles per hour (163 kilometers per hour) on the 1,936-foot (590-meter) straight section of the Gotlandring circuit’s southern loop in Sweden.
Drawing juice from a 5.4 watt-hours (56 amp-hours) swappable battery pack, the 265-pound (120-kilogram) kart was piloted by Swedish driver Leo Obrant, who said that he never experienced such high speeds when racing ICE karts. “I have raced internal combustion engine karts, but the top speed in races for those is about 130-140 km/h. I have never driven a go-kart this fast,” he said.
The company’s official website states that the top-of-the-line model can accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in about 3 seconds and that it can reach a top speed of 84 mph (135 kph), so it’s unclear what modifications were made to the record-setting chassis, although it may just be a case of removing a software limitation.
According to Blue Shock Race, the price for a full kart that uses the same CRY32-S15 chassis as the record-setting single-seater is €12,995 ($13,900), while the powertrain alone costs €9,995 ($10,700) and can be fitted on any standard chassis.
In related news, a student-made EV set a new acceleration record, going from 0 to 62 mph in less than a second.
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