A TINY car has set a new electric vehicle speeding world record – by going from 0-60mph in 0.956 seconds.
Students from ETH Zurich and Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts smashed the previous record of of 1.461 seconds with their hand-built racing car – called mythen.
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Kate Maggetti was behind the wheel when the new record was set on September 1 at the Switzerland Innovation Park in Duebendorf.
The vehicle accelerated the equivalent of nought to 62mph over a distance of 12.3 metres.
The motor was able to stay on the ground thanks to a kind of vacuum cleaner which used suction to keep the vehicle stapled to the ground.
Lightweight carbon and aluminium honeycomb meant the car weighed in at a nimble 140 kilos.
A ETH Zurich spokesperson explains: “The members of the Academic Motorsports Club Zurich (AMZ) are absolutely thrilled.
“For the better part of a year, these students from ETH Zurich and the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts have spent every spare minute working on their electric vehicle, which they named mythen, overcoming setbacks and going back to the drawing board time and time again for certain components.”
Yann Bernard, head of motor at AMZ, says: “Working on the project in addition to my studies was very intense.
“But even so, it was a lot of fun working with other students to continually produce new solutions and put into practice what we learned in class.
“And, of course, it is an absolutely unique experience to be involved in a world record.”
All of mythen’s components, including the chassis and the battery, were developed by the students and optimised for their function.
Dario Messerli, head of aerodynamics at AMZ, adds: “But power isn’t the only thing that matters when it comes to setting an acceleration record – effectively transferring that power to the ground is also key.”
It’s not the first time the team have set the world record for an electric vehicle’s speed.
The AMZ team have achieved the feat twice before – in 2014 and again in 2016.
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