A team of 20 students from the University of Stuttgart has broken the world record for fastest-accelerating electric car, which showed the ability to reach zero to 100km/h (62.1mph) in 1.461 seconds, a 0.097 improvement on the previous record set in 2016.
The car, named E0711-11 EVO, is a similar size to a go-kart and is shown accelerating at the record-breaking scene in a video uploaded to YouTube.
At this speed, the driver of the Stuttgart vehicle will experience g-forces of up to 2.5G, which is slightly less than the 3G experienced by astronauts during a rocket launch.
The students comprise the ‘GreenTeam’ and worked on the vehicle as part of the Formula Student engineering competition, which involves the ranking of teams across a range of categories, including acceleration and endurance tests.
While Formula Student cars are designed to be larger than a standard go-kart, they include wings inspired by Formula One cars for downforce and a monocoque chassis for a light weight and strength.
What’s more, the Stuttgart teams says its all-wheel drive electric vehicle (EV) weighs less than 145kg (319lbs) without its driver and produces up to 180kW with a power-to weight ratio of 1240kW per tonne.
In comparison, a typical Formula One car’s power-to-weight ratio is approximately 1040kW per tonne.
Another of the car’s features includes a torque-vectoring system to enable the front and rear axles to rotate independently.
The car is also reportedly equipped with lidars to support autonomous operation and the avoidance of obstacles, such as cones.
Croatian EV manufacturer Rimac has held onto the world record for fastest-accelerating production electric car, with its Nevera model reaching speeds of 100km/h within 2.1 seconds.
