True Cousins – From the Beginning to Now – 100% Electric Drag Racing

True Cousins has been in business since 2007 built and raced battery-powered drag racing vehicles—resulting in 10 (still standing) world records with 6 different vehicles—4 motorcycles and 2 cars.

It started small with two 12-volt lead-acid batteries, but that number quickly grew to four and eventually to 16 batteries in the Silver Giant motorcycle, operating at both 24 and 48 volts—and with that, the first world record was set in 2009.

Then we got our first lithium batteries, and with them we set the next record—an improvement on our own record in the 48 V class from 2010 —a feat that was broadcast LIVE on TV2 Lorry. The somewhat lighter lithium batteries were directly responsible for a backflip, during which SG disappeared beneath Hans-Henrik, who fell onto his tailbone and broke his thumb. (Silver Giant was on display at the Danish Museum of Science and Technology for many years).

In 2011 we decided to take the design of the Silver Bullitt drag bike to the next level; it ended up sharing a battery pack with our first car, the TC9, which is a kit car based on a VW Beetle chassis and an Eagle body. The battery pack was built using Li-Po (lithium-cobalt) cells in 48-volt modules, allowing us to switch voltages and thus voltage classes. For the first time, we designed our own BMS (Battery Management System), and the controllers, charging system, and everything else were also our own production.

In 2012 , Silver Bullitt set its first record in the 96-volt class, and TC9 set its first record in 2013, when it also secured an impressive 2nd place at DHB (Denmark’s Fastest Car). This was followed by another record for Silver Bullitt in the 150 V class—now with a time of 5.58 seconds over the 1/8-mile and 0-100 km/h in 1.3 seconds.

Inthe following couple of years, after switching to the 200 V ,we had major problems with the Silver Bullitt regarding directional stability —and we struggled just to match our own 5.58 record. It wasn’t until we finally reinforced the chassis with help from Speedy at Basement Performance that things started moving forward quickly again.

And in 2014 , we embarked on our most ambitious project to date: the construction of the TC-X, a full-blooded doorslammer drag racer featuring a custom-designed chassis, certified for 7.5/4.5 seconds, and a fiberglass body that is an exact replica of the TC9 (Eagle SS). In addition, it features two 11" motors, two Zilla K2 controllers, a 1.6 MW battery pack—of course with an integrated BMS—and many, many more details.

In the fall of 2015 , the Silver Bullitt in the 200 V-class managed to clock a time of 5.16 seconds over the 1/8-mile, which was an improvement over the legendary KillarCycle’s record for that distance.

After a troubled debut year (in 2015) that included a derailment on the Vandel track at DHB —which was featured on TV2 News—the TC-X made a strong comeback in 2016 , clocking a record time of 5.12 seconds. Incidentally, both vehicles had an exit speed of 222 km/h at that time.

He also made an appearance with the TC-X on the popular quiz show "Versus" on DR1.

That same year, we won the Mosten Race Day in the Super Competition Bike class for the first time with Silver Bullitt, and we also got to compete head-to-head against gasoline-powered drag bikes for the first time at Malmö Raceway, where we finished in second place at the Summer Nationals.

During the winter of 2016/17, an upgrade of the Silver Bullitt began, featuring a new, more powerful battery pack of approximately 600 kW (previously 400 kW) and 250 volts, as well as two new and similarly more powerful controllers.

A series of technical issues at the start of the 2017 season meant that Silver Bullitt’s two custom-built controllers had to be abandoned, and a setup with a single Zilla controller was implemented. We took both vehicles to the DHB and managed to win with Silver Bullitt, while the TC-X spun its wheels in the quarterfinals.

At the Summer Nationals, we managed to break the 5-second barrier for the first time ever, and with a time of 4 .82 seconds, we set a new world record for the Silver Bullitt in the 400-volt class.

Just one month later, TC-X followed suit and set the record at 4.89 seconds. The accompanying YouTube video has been viewed 138,000 times, whereas our previous highest view count was around 20,000.

Among other things, these performances led to a appearance on Aftenshowet in August 2017, and shortly thereafter we secured our second victory with Silver Bullitt at Mosten Race Day. However, there was a bit of a sour note, as several of our competitors couldn’t handle losing (even though we’ve been racing electric cars at Mosten in the same class for 5 years without ever coming close to winning) and walked out during the award ceremony.

At the same event, the TC-X had been removed from the Top Doorslammer class after leading the standings following the first round. The argument was that we did not comply with the class rules (due to electric power)—however, there were several other cars that clearly did not belong in the class but were nevertheless allowed to continue.

These unfortunate events brought to a close a long and otherwise positive run at Mosten Race Day—we hope to return one day, provided we can reach an agreement with the organizers regarding the terms of our participation.

Later, the DMU decided to ban electric power from all motorcycle classes where it had been permitted since 2012. This led to a lengthy appeal on our part, but unfortunately it did not yield the desired result—electric drag bikes are now completely separated from gasoline drag bikes, so we won’t get the head-to-head competition between gasoline and electric that we had hoped for.

In March 2018 , we attended a meeting with the Swedish Automobile Sports Federation to share ideas on how rules for electric vehicles could be integrated into the regulations. As a thank-you, we were invited to put on a demonstration at the Mantorp track, the cradle of drag racing in the Nordic region. It is a 1/4-mile track (402 m), and we were immediately very excited, as we had not previously had the opportunity to drive 402 m on a fully prepared track.

The TC-X and Silver Bullitt were re-geared for the occasion, and it was a huge success, as the TC-X beat the existing record of 8.48 by half a second , setting a new record of 7.98 seconds (and 275 km/h).

The Silver Bullitt clocked in at 7.78 seconds and 269 km/h, but it wasn’t a definitive record, as with 400 V we were closing in on the all-time record of 6.94 seconds. Nevertheless, a great time, which unfortunately ended in the leg balls at the end of the braking zone, as Hans-Henrik wasn’t quite sharp enough during the deceleration—and it’s not the world’s longest braking zone either, only 50 m longer than the Malmö track, which is 201 m.

Before Mantorp, we were back at DHB with the TC-X, and it resulted in yet another 2nd place for the series—but also a pretty nice video, including some great drone footage.

Late in the season, we agreed to participate in a DR program, Nærsyn, which in just under 4 minutes tells the story of True Cousins, what we do, and why.

In February 2019 , construction began on what is likely to be the last drag bike—and for that reason, it was a full-size model comparable in size to a Top Fuel Bike, with a total length of over 3 meters without the wheelie bar. The clear goal was to beat The Rockets’ world record of 6.94 (which is also the fastest time for ANY electric vehicle in the world) within the next few years.
At this year’s Drag Revival at Mantorp, however, we set a very good time and world record No. 9 with 7.80 seconds and 273 km/h in the 250-volt class, and at the very end of the season, we achieved our best 60-foot time to date with 1.15 seconds = 0–100 km/h in 1.02 seconds.

At the same time, the TC-X was fitted with even larger rims and tires (to prevent tire shake), but it took the entire season before we had even come close to achieving directional stability.

One of the winter upgrades involved moving the battery packs closer to the center of gravity—they were placed on the passenger side, right next to Glenn. Another planned upgrade was initially to add a third motor to the Silver Lightning, along with a few more battery cells to power the whole system. The third engine was eventually scrapped, however, as it turned out that the original engines from the Silver Bullitt were simply too small, and something new and more powerful was needed.

During the winter of 2020, we identified two larger engines that would fit the frame. It turned out to be quite a process: the engines were first shipped from the manufacturer abroad to us, where we made various modifications before sending them back to the manufacturer so he could finish them and then ship them back to us again.

At the same time, the COVID-19 pandemic had broken out, and it quickly became clear to us that we would only be able to race a few times in the coming season. After a test at Holeby, we took both the TC-X and the Silver Lightning to Mantorp and Dragrevival (without spectators). Glenn needed to get a license to be able to drive under 7.50, and for that, he had to, among other things, get out of the car in under 15 seconds—which he never managed to do...and the TC-X once again proved impossible to drive in a straight line, so the whole thing turned out to be a bit of a bust.

On the other hand, with the Silver Lightning, we managed to improve on last year’s 7.80 seconds, clocking an absolutely fantastic time of 7.08 seconds and 304 km/h which was the second-fastest time ever for an electric vehicle—and we hadn’t even pushed the power to its absolute limit!

We were SO close to the world record of all time—6.94—that we had to see if we could pull it off this season. After a phone call with the owner of Santa Pod Raceway (UK)—probably the fastest track in Europe—we agreed that we could attend what was supposed to be The Euro Finals, but which now became NOT The Euro Finals (Sept. 11–13). The track put together a pretty cool preview video about the record attempt.

The agreement was that we would get three runs each day over three days. On Friday and Saturday, we had limited success, with our best time being 7.15 on Saturday, but by Saturday evening, we were in crisis mode, as Silver Lightning was digging in hard with the rear wheel and pulling to the left in every run. Hans-Henrik had asked the 10-time European Top Fuel Bike champion, Ian King, in advance if he was coming to this event—and luckily, we got hold of him on Saturday evening and showed him the data logs and video. His advice was crucial in giving us the courage to do what we didn’t really believe would work—even more power.

The first run on Sunday morning was a huge success, as the first world record of 6.87 seconds was set, while the ninth and final run was even better, clocking in at 6.86 seconds and 314 km/h. Silver Lightning drove for the first time for about 80 meters on the rear wheel and completely straight—it later turned out, incidentally, that this time could have been as low as 6.6—but only time will tell.

To be continued...