Now this is awesome. While we get that loads of people are not into the whole electric drag racing thing (we’re not exactly jumping up and down about it, either) we are huge fans of people pushing barriers and making history, especially when those people are heroic bad asses like Don Garlits. As we have covered for years now, Gar has been working on breaking the 200mph barrier in an electric dragster. This has been no easy task as many attempts have been made with varying levels of success. He has not gotten really close to 200 yet but that has not deterred the Swamp Rat. In fact, he has gone back to the drawing board, revised his design for Swamp Rat 38 and apparently gone with a different electric motor design as well.

A local TV station seems to be the source for the videos below. There’s a short interview and a burnout clip that is pretty awesome. Any guy in his 80s wanting to strap into a dragster of his own design and construction and blow the tires off for fun is enough to put a smile on our faces every freaking time. There’s also a short interview here that reveals the fact that Garlits will be renting the track at Bradenton, Florida to make his record attempts.

What’s stymied him so far? It seems like a tough thing to have an electric motor controller that can handle exactly what they are trying to do here. He’s burned up a bunch of electrical stuff along the way but he seems confident that they have got it licked now.

This car is a far more basic looking unit than the previous dragster used in attempts that had a full streamliner design. This one is light, bare bones, and far “simpler” looking. We’re not throwing rocks, just observing the visual differences.The bolt upright seating position is certainly a departure from modern dragster design, but hey, whatever Big Daddy wants, Big Daddy gets.

Now, can he get 200mph?

Press play below to see Don Garlits heat the hides on his electric dragster –