There’s nothing quite like the thrill of blasting a go-kart around the track.
Even with a limited power output of 10 hp, they’re plenty fast due to the fact they’re so light.
So you can imagine how terrifying it’d be being behind the wheel of a go-kart with 44 horsepower.
READ MORE! This custom-built racer just smashed the world record for acceleration
A 44-horsepower all-electric go-kart is apparently fast enough to set a new speed record.
That’s what Latvia-based Blue Shock Race is claiming anyway.
Their lightly modified production go-kart, powered by a 25-kilowatt electric motor, apparently reached a top speed of 163 km/h (101.3 mph) to set the record.
The record was broken on a 1,936-foot (590-meter) straight section of Gortlandring circuit’s southern loop in Sweden.
Drawing juice from a 5.4 watt-hours swappable battery pack, the 265-pound (120-kilogram) go-kart was piloted by Swedish driver Leo Obrant.
“I have raced internal combustion engine karts, but the top speed in races for those is about 130-140 km/h,” Obrant said.
“I have never driven a go-kart this fast”.
The company’s all-electric go-kart lineup offers everything from kid-focused 2 hp motors to a 44-hp option.
In other words, the kart that set the new speed record, can actually be purchased.
According to their website, that top-of-the-line model can accelerate from 0-100 km/h (0-60 mph) in about 3 seconds.
To put it into perspective, that’s around the same time as it takes the McLaren Senna to complete the dash.
That being said, the go-kart has a top speed of 135 km/h (84 mph), which is nowhere near the Senna’s 340-km/h (208-mph) top speed.
How the go-kart managed to reach 163 km/h is unclear, buit it might just be a case of the software limitation being removed.
The price for a full kart using the same CRY32-S15 chassis as the record-setting single-seater is $13,900.
The powertrain alone costs $10,700, but it can be fitted on any standard chassis.
While the production go-kart sounds epicly fast, it’s not quite as fast as the custom-built racer that recently set a new acceleration record, going from 0-100 km/h (0-60 mph) in less than a second.
