Japanese Electric Car to Set World-Record

Japanese researchers are working on their latest creation, the world's fastest electric car. They hope the machine will set a new world speed record of 400 kilometres (248 miles) per hour.

Recently, former Formula One driver Ukyo Katayama took the wheel of the Eliica, equipped with eight wheels and lithium battery-powered motors, at a test track in Kuroiso, some 200 kilometres (130 miles) north of Tokyo.

A predecessor of the Eliica, the Kaz, set the current world record for an electric car at 311 kilometres per hour in Nardo, southern Italy, in April 2001.

The Eliica hit a top speed of about 315 kph in Sunday's test runs but the time was considered unofficial.

It will be sent to Nardo in early March for official trials to set a world record on March 13-14.

The car was developed by a research team led by Hiroshi Shimizu, engineering professor at the prestigious Keio University, in cooperation with dozens of corporations.