Around the turn of the last century, people the world over were building their own version of the horseless carriage, and Karl Benz’s internal combustion engine wasn’t the only approach to propulsion. Steam and electricity also were used to make bizarre but excellent machines, like this phallic record-setter.
La Jamais Contente—French for “never satisfied”—was once the fastest car in the world, and the first to break the 100 kilometers per hour (62 mph) barrier. It was built and driven by one of the most hot-headed men in motorsports history. That's saying a lot considering his competition.
As the 1800s drew to a close, the internal combustion engine was barely developed, and hardly a lock to become the dominant form of propulsion. EVs offered a dignified silence, they didn’t require a hand crank to start, and their limited range wasn’t much of an issue in the days before highways (and there was no network of gas stations, anyway). More importantly for Camille Jenatzy, they were the fastest things on the road.
Jenatzy, a Belgian engineer, entered the electric car industry in the late 1890s, financed by his family’s rubber business. He built the car he brought to his first race, a hill climb in November, 1898. He set the day’s record of 17 mph. (In an era without radar guns, speed was determined using distance markers, pocket watches, and basic math.)
Three weeks later, Frenchman Count Gaston de Chasseloup-Laubat doubled that, setting an official land-speed record of 39.2 mph in his EV, built by competing auto maker Jeantaud of France. Jenatzy saw an opportunity to make news and draw the attention of potential customers, so he challenged the Count, beginning one of the motoring world’s first rivalries. The two men raced repeatedly, with each race resulting in a new land speed record. Chasseloup-Laubat hit 43.7 mph on January 17, 1899. Jenatzy hit 49.9 mph later that month. In March, Chasseloup-Laubat topped him again, hitting 57.6 mph.
Determined to take back the title, Jenatzy spent two months building a new car, the first specifically built from scratch to set a record. The result was La Jamais Contente, a phallic machine driven by a pair of 25-kilowatt electric motors and two 100-volt, 124-amp batteries. The car made about 68 horsepower and its torpedo-like aluminum alloy body was thought to be aerodynamically efficient. Riding on a wooden undercarriage, it traded in the typical solid rubber tires for a pneumatic set, provided by Edouard and Andre Michelin. The car was a success: On April 29, 1899, Jenatzy broke 100 kilometers per hour, achieving 105.9 kph (65.8 mph).