La Jamais Contente
La Jamais Contente () was the first road vehicle to go over . 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. The light alloy, called partinium, is an alloy of aluminium, tungsten and magnesium. 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, for about 68 hp total, and was equipped with Michelin tires. The chassis was number 25. Driver. 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 ("The Red Devil") for the colour of his beard. He died in 1913, after being shot in a hunting accident. Motivation. 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. Jenatzy reached the speed of , besting the previous record, held by Count Gaston de Chasseloup-Laubat driving a Jeantaud, who had attained 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.