Eva Håkansson may be the fastest female motorcyclist in the world, but it’s the joy of building her own bike that keeps her in the game

For more than a century speed has ruled Utah’s Bonneville Salt Flats. In August and September, when the ancient lakebed dries to a rock hard crust, speed merchants arrive in the pursuit of glory. The hopefuls, lured by the prospect of land speed records, are an eclectic bunch, albeit with a definite bias towards the male and the grizzled. This alone makes Sweden’s Eva Håkansson, 34 years old and the world’s fastest female motorcyclist, stand out – that and the fact she rides an electric bike.

Volume 3. Eva Håkansson is a combination of speed junkie and tree-hugger. Her mission in life is to show that eco-friendly can be fast and fun, and that women are excellent engineers. She calls here 270 mph (434 km/h) battery-powered motorcycle “eco-activism in disguise”. Her driving force is the pure joy of building things that have never been built before.