Speedy – and No Range Anxiety

Dean Sigler Electric Powerplants, Sustainable Aviation Leave a Comment

Breaking a record that stood for 26 years, a team of University of New South Wales engineering students have gained FIA recognition for their 500 kilometer (310 mile) drive at an average speed of 106.966 kilometers per hour (66.32 mph) in their solar-powered Sunswift automobile. The Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA), world motorsport’s governing body, ratified the record for the run set by the team in July.  The old record was 73 km/hr. (45.26 mph), making the new record a decisive advancement in electric vehicle technology. The new record is particularly impressive because it’s set by students, more than 100 of whom contributed to the project over the last two years.  Students are now working on their fifth car, eVe, to be built and raced since the team was founded in 1996.  The University’s press release noted, “’It’s not often you can confidently say you made history before you even graduated,’ Sunswift’s project director and third-year engineering student Hayden Smith …