A modified Toyota Prius that set a land speed record for a hybrid vehicle will be shown at the Detroit auto show this January. The car, which topped a shade over 130 mph with Car and Driver editor Aaron Robinson at the helm, had been modified with a taller rear-end ratio, a higher-voltage electric motor and a transmission cooling system, as well as a lowered suspension, aerodynamic body paneling and proper tires, by Toyota engineers. We were going to make a slot-car racing joke, but we couldn't think of any one-liners that used the word "rheostat."

Landspeed Prius Races Across Bonneville Salt Flats [The Auto Channel]

Related:
British Team Seeks to Break Electric Car Speed Record [internal]

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