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La Jamais Contente

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La Jamais Contente
Illustration of "La Jamais Contente", first automobile to reach 100 km/h in 1899
Overview
ManufacturerCompagnie Internationale des transports automobiles électriques
Also calledThe Never Satisfied
Production1899
Powertrain
EngineElectrical
Dimensions
Length3.80 m (12.5 ft)[1]
Width1.56 m (5 ft 1 in)[1]
Height1.40 m (4 ft 7 in)[1]
Curb weight1,450 kg (3,200 lb)[1]
La Jamais Contente on display at the Paris Motor Show 2018
"La Jamais Contente" Detail: rear wheel, reconstruction of Museum Autovision, Altlußheim, Germany

La Jamais Contente (French pronunciation: [la ʒamɛ kɔ̃tɑ̃t]; English: The Never Contented) was the first road vehicle to go over 100 kilometres per hour (62 mph). It was a Belgian electric vehicle with a light-alloy torpedo-shaped bodywork and batteries. The high position of the driver and the exposed chassis underneath spoiled much of the aerodynamics.[2] The light alloy, called partinium, is a mixture of aluminium, tungsten and magnesium.[3]

The land speed record was established on 29 April or 1 May 1899 at Achères, Yvelines near Paris, France. The vehicle had two Postel-Vinay 25 kW motors, each driving the rear axle via a chain, running at 200 V and drawing 124 A each,[1][4] for about 68 hp total, and was equipped with Michelin tires. The chassis was number 25.

Today, it is on display at the National Car and Tourism Museum in Compiègne.[5]

Driver

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The vehicle was driven by the Belgian driver Camille Jenatzy. Camille was the son of Constant Jenatzy, a manufacturer of rubber products (rubber was still a novelty at the time). Camille had studied as an engineer, with an interest in electric-traction automobiles. He became known for his record-breaking speed runs and was nicknamed Le Diable Rouge ("The Red Devil") for the colour of his beard. He died in 1913, after being shot in a hunting accident.

Motivation

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Wishing to carve a place in the then promising Parisian electric carriage market, Jenatzy started a manufacturing plant, which would produce many electric carriages and trucks. He competed fiercely against the carriage-maker Jeantaud in publicity stunts to see which of them made the fastest vehicles. In order to ensure the triumph of his company, Jenatzy built a bullet-shaped prototype, conceived by the carriage-maker Rothschild in partinium (an alloy of laminated aluminum, tungsten and magnesium).

Speed record

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Jenatzy reached the speed of 105.882 kilometres per hour (65.792 mph), besting the previous record, held by Count Gaston de Chasseloup-Laubat driving a Jeantaud, who had attained 92.78 kilometres per hour (57.65 mph) on 4 March 1899. After this exploit the gasoline-fuelled combustion engine would increasingly supplant electric technology for the next century.

The Jamais Contente is now on display at the automobile museum in Compiègne, France.

See also

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Other land speed record electric automobiles

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e "La Jamais Contente" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2006-10-10.
  2. ^ Wheeling to 800 km/h, Tech Tidbits, May 9, 2005. Archived 2012-10-23 at the Wayback Machine
  3. ^ Bourgarit, David; Plateau, Jean (2005). "Quand l'aluminium valait de l'or : peut-on reconnaître un aluminium "chimique" d'un aluminium "électrolytique"?". ArchéoSciences (in French). 29 (29): 95–105. doi:10.4000/archeosciences.560. Retrieved 30 August 2011.
  4. ^ "EV Zero?". EV1 Club. Archived from the original on 2006-10-12. Retrieved 2006-10-18.
  5. ^ "Musées automobiles : Musée National de la Voiture et du Tourisme (Compiègne) | Moniteur Automobile". www.moniteurautomobile.be (in French). Retrieved 2023-10-12.
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