British Electric Land Speed Record Attempt Fails After Bluebird Car Goes Off Course

An attempt to set a new British land speed record for battery-powered vehicles went awry this weekend after a super-fast car had a run-in with the most ubiquitous of road-related obstacles.

As the battery-powered vehicle accelerated, driver Joe Wales reportedly hit a pothole, veered off course and crashed on the Pendine Sands in Pendine Wales on Aug. 14.

Wales, 19, suffered whiplash in the failed U.K. record attempt. The car, called the Bluebird Electric, was left in need of serious repair, the racing team's chief technical advisor, Dr Tim Allen, told The Engineer.

One of the front wheel uprights has sheared off ... Steering's gone on that wheel and they think also the bottom wishbone might have become disconnected ... In terms of repairing it there's an upright that needs replacing. There was quite a substantial amount of input in terms of energy so we need to check the alignment.

The Bluebird Electric is the latest vehicle in a long line of high-speed machines using the avian-influenced name. In 1924, Wales' grandfather, Sir Malcolm Campbell, set a U.K. land speed record when his Bluebird reached a speed of 146 miles per hour on Pendine Sands, according to Sky News.

Wales' father, Don Wales, set the current U.K. record for battery-powered vehicles in 2000 when he achieved a speed of 137 miles per hour. The world record for electric vehicles is held by the Buckeye Bullet, which reached a speed of 307 miles per hour at Utah's Bonneville Salt Flats in 2010. The makers of the Buckeye Bullet hope a new iteration of the vehicle will reach speeds of 400 miles per hour, according to Inhabitat.

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The Bluebird Team reportedly plans to return to Pendine Sands for another U.K. record attempt, however it's unclear if they'll have time to repair their vehicle and take to the sands this year while conditions remain optimal.