Norbar Torque Tools Ltd is delighted to be involved with the attempt to capture two British land speed records. It got involved with the ABB e-motion attempt on the American-held 246 mph record World record for electric vehicles a long time ago and it has been some journey.  Everyone at Norbar shared Driver Mark Newby and the ABB e-motion team’s disappointment at being forced to abandon their 2004 world-record attempt in Tunisia due to adverse weather conditions. They also shared in the disappointment of the aborted attempt in Nevada in 2005.

Now everything is looking good and we have our fingers crossed, not only for the media day but for the record attempt itself, in July. The team has finished manufacturing and machining various components for Vampire & Split Second, just to make sure they have an inventory which is as extensive as it can possibly be - one never knows what one might need when pushing these machines to the absolute limit!

He has also done everything he possibly can to prepare 'e=motion' for her target UK speed. All the new parts have been installed and lots of testing has taken place.

Norbar Torque Tools have a long tradition of involvement with speed record attempts, stretching right back to Sir Malcolm Campbell’s legendary Bluebird team. As speeds have increased (ABB e-motion actually broke Sir Malcolm Campbell’s first ever land speed record during testing in the UK) the attention to detail required during assembly has become even more critical. “One of the most valuable members of the team,” comments Mark Newby, “Is a 32 year old Norbar torque wrench”!

“At the sort of speeds we travel, something coming loose would obviously presents a major hazard. We have to be absolutely sure nothing is left to chance, and the only way to do that is to use the best products we can find. The accurate tightening of fasteners is absolutely vital to both the success of the attempt and to everyone’s safety. That’s the reason why virtually every single nut and bolt on the cars has been set and checked using Norbar tools.” Along with their trusted veteran Norbar torque wrench, the team uses up-to-the-minute Norbar tooling and calibration systems like TruCheck to ensure the highest degree of accuracy.

Philip Brodey, Sales Director of Norbar Torque Tools, said, “This is a fantastic day and all of us at Norbar are very excited to be involved in not one but two British speed record attempts.”  We wish Mark, Colin and the team all the very best.

Please click here to review the Test Day results.

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