A team of 20 students from the German University of Stuttgart set the new world record for the fastest accelerating electric vehicle at 0-100 kph (0-62 MPH) in 1.46 seconds. This news is the latest update in a tri-national rivalry to hold the world EV acceleration record.
Stuttgart says they began the trend in 2012 when the University’s GreenTeam broke the previous record with a 0-100 kph acceleration time of 2.68 seconds. Since then, the Guinness World Record title has hopped between Germany, the Netherlands and Switzerland until the GreenTeam brought the name back to Stuttgart.
The GreenTeam took almost a year to prepare their car in their Vaihingen Campus workshop.
“The carbon racing car weighs just under 145 kilograms (around 320lb) and puts a maximum output of 180 kilowatts on the road thanks to the four-wheel drive with motors and a newly designed high-voltage battery pack.” Says the University of Stuttgart. “Due to the low vehicle weight, this corresponds to 1750 hp per ton. The vehicle can thus achieve a peak acceleration of 2.5g, which is roughly equivalent to the force experienced by astronauts when a rocket re-enters the Earth’s atmosphere.”
During one test run, the vehicle experienced a malfunction at high speeds and crashed into a tire-cushioned track barrier.
“Fortunately, the driver was unharmed,” says Pavel Povolni, GreenTeam’s first chairman, “but the vehicle suffered enormous damage.”
The Guinness Book of World Records verified the team’s new speed on Oct. 12.
