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Aussie electric vehicle breaks 20-year-old world speed record
Record-breaking EV or solar vehicles can be awkward, but the new EV speed champ from Australia looks like an actual car. The Sunswift eVe from NSWU managed 62MPH over 500km (310 miles) on a test circuit, besting the previous 45MPH record in a rout (pending final FIA verification). It could've done even better using its built-in 800-watt solar panels, but they were actually switched off for the EV-only record attempt. The same team holds the solar speed record at 55MPH with its Sunswift IV, but unlike that car, the Sunswift eVe can seat two people in relative comfort. Its Panasonic battery pack can be fully charged in eight hours from a standard outlet or gain two hours of endurance in the same time from the panels. The team hopes to make the 700-pound eVe street legal in Australia -- not to make Tesla sweat, but to help cure the biggest headache with EV tech: range anxiety.
Sunswift IV, world's fastest solar-powered racer, leaves GM Sunraycer in its dust
The Sunswift IV (aka IVy) might look like a mobile dinner table, but it's actually the world's fastest solar-powered vehicle. The table-top on wheels got the official nod from the Guinness Book of World Records last week, for hitting a top speed of 88km/h (about 55 mph) -- nearly 10 km/h faster than the previous record-holder, the GM Sunraycer, which bears a striking resemblance to a disembodied Android monster. IVy, designed by Sunswift, a student-run non-profit at the University of New South Wales, reached its top speed using 1050 watts, about 400 watts less than the Sunraycer, and performed its record-smashing run without the 25kg battery it's usually packing. Faster runs have been clocked, including by IVy, but Guinness has not been on hand for confirmation.
