Swiss Students Break World Record! 0-100kph in 1.513 seconds

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Electric cars accelerate quickly because electric motors always operate at maximum torque. The new electric race car prototype from a group of Swiss students takes that to the extreme, though. The vehicle, known as the Grimsel, has just destroyed the world record for electric vehicle acceleration. It went from 0 to 100 kph (62 mph) in 1.513 seconds. This run was more than two-tenths of a second faster than the previous record holder. That’s eons in the world of racing. This feat was accomplished by the Academic Motorsports Club Zurich (AMZ), which consists of students from ETH Zurich and Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts. Basically, a whole gaggle of engineering students.

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The Grimsel manages this feat thanks to powerful electric motors, but it’s also extremely light at just 168 kg (370 pounds) thanks to its carbon fiber construction. There are four electric drive motors (one for each wheel) that can generate 200 horsepower each and 1,700 Nm of torque. Each wheel motor can be controlled independently to keep power distributed evenly during acceleration. In total, you’re looking at 1,254 foot-pounds of torque powering the incredible aceleration of the Grimsel. By comparison, the 2016 Ferrari 488GTB packs in just 560 foot-pounds of torque and goes from zero to 100 kph in three seconds — about twice as long as the Grimsel. At least the Ferrari looks nicer. The Grimsel probably won’t ever be used in real competition, but a previous version of the car did quite well in the 2014 international Formula Student competition. This one probably will as well.

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