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Comment by mydriasis | Hacker News Reader

Now _that_ is hot rodding. Can't wait to see what the drag strip looks like in ten years!

I was thinking the same. It is interesting to think of different fuel modalities. Liquid fuels seem to have a throughput advantage for now. The article doesn't seem go into electrical depth. From the pictures, it looks like they are powering all four wheels at the hub.

This articles says" The vehicle weighs just 140 kilograms and has an output of 326hp." https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/swiss-students-break-world-reco...

A top fuel dragster accelerates from a standstill to 100 mph (160.9 km/h) in as little as 0.8 seconds (less than one third the time required by a production Porsche 911 Turbo to reach 60 mph (96.6 km/h))[1] and can exceed 297 mph (478.0 km/h) in just 660 feet (201.2 m). This subjects the driver to an average acceleration of about 4.0 g0 (39 m/s2) over the duration of the race and with a peak of over 5.6 g0 (55 m/s2).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Top_Fuel

8-wheels or more and tons of batteries

Remember the six wheeled Tyrrell P34 F1 racing car? Admittedly, ony the rear axis was driven, but that was one badass car (and it won a Grand Prix).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tyrrell_P34

Yeah it was unforgettable. Also the Williams FW08B, but that was banned before racing.

https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/six-wheeled-formula-one-w...

...and lithium fires.

Unfortunately, I think there will be pearl clutching and new rules that allow gas/diesel powered vehicles only "due to safety", at least my guess.

.....the what now? Have you watched any drag strip racing, like, ever? Cars regularly go up in flames. The suggestion that normal ICE cars would be allowed over EVs for "safety" is actively hilarious.

Just the first example I could quickly find:

https://www.digitaltrends.com/cars/electric-cars-banned-from...

https://www.yellowbullet.com/threads/evs-got-banned-from-rac...

And sounds like it's not for lithium fires only but also traction control.

I think you missed the point. For a petrolhead, a lithium fire is like a nuclear fire for a Green Part voter in Germany.

Yes, we all know that. The problem is that some people make ridiculous anti-EV "safety" rules anyway.

I highly doubt this. It is already a pretty regular occurrence for ICE cars to combust on drag strips

Yeah.. if people think the prospect of a lithium fire is going to scare drag strips into banning them, even under 'false' pretenses, they haven't spent any time at a drag strip.

Most drag strips are run by volunteers or extremely small hobbyist tracks and have almost no regard for safety. Basically if the driver is wearing a helmet (and a fire suit at more formal places) you can run it. To compete they'll often require roll cages but most pulls are just against the clock so on many nights they let any random joe schmo pull up and get a time.

The crowd often line the lanes behind small concrete barriers and people are usually welcome in the staging area and right up next to the burnout boxes..

Explosions and fires are common, as are crashes.

https://youtu.be/O7P_2voFMRE?t=35

https://youtu.be/QeIwAJK3iBg?t=128

Maybe it's the traction control then

https://www.yellowbullet.com/threads/evs-got-banned-from-rac...

Drag racers used to use hydrazine which would slowly convert into a contact explosive when mixed with gasoline. The exhaust flames were green. If the carburetor and fuel tank was not purged fast enough after a race the engine, carb, and/or fuel tank would explode and sometimes kill people. I doubt drag racers or venues are scared of lithium.

In ten years it's all going to be solid state, no more fires.

For sure, assuming we haven’t switch from Lithium to Aluminum by then.

I hope so!

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