Automotive

Don't blink: EV scorches 0-62 in under 1.5 seconds for world record

Don't blink: EV scorches 0-62 in under 1.5 seconds for world record
GreenTeam absolutely torches the 0-62 mph sprint
GreenTeam absolutely torches the 0-62 mph sprint
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GreenTeam absolutely torches the 0-62 mph sprint
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GreenTeam absolutely torches the 0-62 mph sprint
Smoking tires illuminated by intense light
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Smoking tires illuminated by intense light
After losing the record six years ago, University of Stuttgart's GreenTeam takes it back
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After losing the record six years ago, University of Stuttgart's GreenTeam takes it back
GreenTeam members poses with their world-record car
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GreenTeam members poses with their world-record car
GreenTeam's small, ultralight racer is powered by four motors and a 7.7-kWh battery pack
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GreenTeam's small, ultralight racer is powered by four motors and a 7.7-kWh battery pack
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While electric hypercar manufacturers have taken to breaking things down to the hundredth of a second to distinguish acceleration times around or below the 2-second mark, university teams have dropped things by full tenths down into the mid 1-second area with track-only electric roadsters. In 2016, the Swiss Grimsel set the Guinness World Record for fastest 0-100 km/h electric car acceleration at 1.513 seconds. Now, the GreenTeam from the University of Stuttgart brings the record back to Germany by breaking the 1.5-sec mark.

For a chunk of the early-to-mid 2010's, the 0-100 km/h (62 mph) electric car acceleration record was quite hotly contested, bouncing its way from one European university team to the next on an annual basis, from Germany, to Switzerland, to the Netherlands and back again.

Three years after assembling in 2009, the University of Stuttgart GreenTeam set its first world record at 2.681 seconds in 2012, which was surpassed in 2013 by the Delft University of Technology and again in 2014 with the first sub-2-sec time posted by ETH Zurich/AMZ's Grimsel. The Stuttgart GreenTeam got it back once again in 2015 by edging out the Grimsel's time, only to lose it in 2016 when the Grimsel came back with a 1.513-sec record that's stood for six years.

But no longer. The University of Stuttgart announced on October 6 that its GreenTeam had gone to Bosch's racetrack in Renningen, Germany on September 23 and successfully performed a 1.461-sec 0-100 km/h run. The run was completed in the latest version of the team's self-built open-cockpit racer, the E0711. Guinness recognized the record on October 6, hence the delayed timing of the announcement.

Smoking tires illuminated by intense light
Smoking tires illuminated by intense light

The GreenTeam E0711 may not have a memorable name like "Grimsel," but it's an absolutely formidable machine. The carbon fiber racer runs all four wheels via in-house-developed motors that team up for 180 kW (242 hp) when under power from the new high-voltage battery pack. That output is a fraction of the four-figure horsepower numbers now standard for road-going electric hypercars, but given that the university car weighs a mere 145 kg (320 lb), it beats the elusive 1:1 ratio for a power-to-weight of 1.24 kW/kg, or 1.67 hp/kg.

GreenTeam members poses with their world-record car
GreenTeam members poses with their world-record car

While GreenTeam certainly developed a capable machine with which to target the official record, it wasn't a smooth, easy path to triumph. The team prepared for the challenge for nearly a full year. A crash in July left the car in need of serious repair (driver was okay), and the initial record attempt in early September had to be postponed to the later date due to technical issues. But things eventually broke GreenTeam's way on September 23, and the car surged to victory.

You can check out world record day in the quick two-minute video.

GreenTeam - World Record - 0-100km/h - 1.461s

Source: University of Stuttgart

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6 comments
6 comments
Daishi
An Ariel Atom is street legal. I wonder how hard it would be to make a street legal slightly upscaled version of this. It would be so fun to drive.
TpPa
& what does all this time & money spent to get the fastest speed do for the world in the way of consumer electric cars?
DBK
That's all well and good, but what I want to know is; "How Many G's?"
Rocky Stefano
Oh yay!!!! Electric cars are sooooo exciting!!! God give me an F1 V12 any day!!! https://youtu.be/XJ-G0p9bnFY?t=190 And please... no eco warrior comments
ljaques
Right, how many Gs does it achieve both accelerating and cornering?
itsKeef
40 metres of neck snapping stuff . Dull video, all slow motion footage. Three real time clips would be fun to watch. Three different angles covering the full distance run.
Am i getting this right? d=st. I appreciate that 'velocity' is not constant in this case, so my rough and ready calculation doesnt really work. Speed 100kmh ...time 1.4 sec...does that make 0.04 km = 40 metres? Make the run last for the full 'Quarter Mile' (400m) now that would be fun. If terminal velocity is reached at 40meters and continues to 400meters what is the time? Someone help me on that bit.