By: Scott Way
Vision Marine Technologies has set the new electric speed boat record during a trial run at the Lake of the Ozarks Shootout. The Canadian company ran their Bruce 22 model equipped with an E-Motion 180e engine to a top speed of 49 mph/78 km/h during its third and final test run.
The 2021 Ozarks Shootout is the third year in which there's been an electric category, and it's also the third straight year Vision Marine Technologies has taken home the leading prize. The company previously operated under the name The Canadian Electric Boat Company until reorganizing in November 2020 as Vision Marine Technologies as part of a $27 Initial Public Offering (IPO) on the Nasdaq Exchange. As part of that new arrangement the company also announced plans to developed their own high-powered electric outboard.
Xavier Montagne, CTO of VIsion Marine Technologies, said in a press release, “We believe that our fully electric technology provided a clear glimpse into the very near future. We envision electric boats and outboard motors quickly becoming mainstream within the consumer markets, and the Lake of the Ozarks Shootout presented an exciting opportunity for Vision Marine to debut its E-Motion™ outboard motor.”
The first record by VMT came in 2018 aboard a US-made Calypso 'panga' style boat with a Torqeedo engine. The initial record was 25 mph/39 km/h. In 2019 the record jumped to 30 mph/48 km/h in a Volt 180 with a Torqeedo Deep Blue 180. In 2020, VMT used their Bruce 22 hull with an e-Motion 180E outboard to reach the top of the podium.
Now in the 2021 Shootout, VMT used the same Bruce 22 hull with the latest iteration of the e-Motion 180E to reach 49 mph/78 km/h. This year marked the 33rd running of the Shootout and drew 100,000 spectators to the largest unsanctioned boat race in the US. The event is also a large charitable contributor with over $400,000 being raised for 40 different organizations at last year's event alone.
“We are absolutely thrilled with the performance of our Bruce 22 powered by our E-Motion™ electric powertrain at the Lake of the Ozarks Shootout,” said Alexandre Mongeon, CEO of Vision Marine Technologies. “One of the largest boating events in the nation, the Shootout provided a tremendous platform to showcase our electric technology to the boating community.”
While the Ozarks Shootout is the largest US event with an electric boat category, it does not necessarily qualify for world's fastest electric boat. The fastest electric boat on record is a prototype from Jaguar Vector Racing with a top speed of 88 mph/142 km/h. The fastest production-level electric boat is made by German company SAY Carbon and comes in at 57 mph/93 km/h.
The key to VMT's success lies in their proprietary E-Motion technology, which is capable of higher output than other electric options on the market. The E-Motion engines are capable of greater torque to horsepower ratio, as well as ultra-fast charging capabilities and nearly noiseless operation.
You can check out the E-Motion 180e engine in the video below:
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