When one thinks of fast cars, one doesn’t think about the Volkswagen Jetta. Nor of a hybrid. Volkswagen wants to change that. The German company had a Jetta hybrid running at Bonneville. The car has been lowered to reduce aerodynamic drag, and a big rollcage has been fitted inside for safety. The engine is 1.4-liter turbocharged inline-four. With much more boost for racing, power is up to 300 hp (production model makes 150-hp). That was enough to got the car running at a 186.313-mph average speed over two runs, and a top speed of 187.147 mph.

An impressive result considering the car didn’t cost a fortune to build. The car was competing in a production class at Bonneville, meaning , the bodywork was totally stock. Very few things were actually modified. We used to look down on hybrids with small gas engines, we can’t do that any longer. This Jetta hybrid has set a new world record.