Last week, “Big Daddy” Don Garlits made a bit of drag racing history — something he’s spent the better part of his 82 years on earth doing — when he drove the revolutionary new Swamp Rat 37 dragster to a new world record speed for an electric-powered vehicle at 184 miles per hour at the Bradenton Motorsports Park in Florida near his home in Ocala, Fla. 

The run, which came in just 7.25 seconds, was without a doubt the quietest 184 miles per hour of Garlits’ career. You see, unlike the supercharged, nitro-burning Hemi’s that have been a part of the majority of Big’s famous Swamp Rats, this one is powered by a 1500 amp array of lithium polymer batteries that produces the equivalent of 2,000 horsepower and is virtually silent, making even a turbocharged Pro Modified sound ear-splitting by comparison. In addition to the incredible and instantaneous power this form of motivation provides, it also makes it possible to hear every little sound that that the other systems in the car make, from the brakes to the sound of the gears turning to the shifting of the transmission.

A onboard camera was mounted to the rear wing during the first official test of the Brad Hadman-built dragster in its finished form, capturing the footage shown here of the unique ride that Garlits enjoys from the drivers seat. On this particular run a fuse blew at around half track, effectively killing the power as quickly as a blown fuse in your home would. But you can certainly get a sense of the almost eerie silence — as though someone selectively cut off a part of your sense of hearing — that the Swamp Rat 37 has.

Garlits and the team of Mike Gerry and Hadman, with plenty of knowledge and data in their hands, will be returning to the track in the coming weeks to tackle their ultimate goal of eclipsing the 200 mile per hour barrier. If the team can get it done — and there’s not a reason in the world to elect they won’t — the team would become the first in history on four wheels to go 200 miles per hour in a quarter-mile.