Swiss EV Team Creates Fastest-Accelerating Car in History

An electric vehicle (EV) built by a team of Swiss students has broken the world record for the fastest-accelerating car. A remarkable video shows driver Kate Maggetti going from 0–100 km/h (0–62 mph) in less than one second.

The Academic Motorsports Club Zurich (AMZ), consisting of students from ETH Zurich and the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences, has been constructing these record-setting EV racers for several years. The students work on the EVs outside of their regular academic activities.

The Swiss EV team first set a world record for electric car acceleration in 2014. It set a new record again in 2016.

Since then, a competing team from the University of Stuttgart has held the record, gradually reducing the time from the 1.7-second range to the current 1.461 seconds as of September 2022.

By smashing the previous record, the AMZ team has managed to shave off more than a third of the time, which is an extraordinary leap forward.

The AMZ car also has faster acceleration than all non-electric cars on the market. According to HotCars, the Dodge Challenger SRT Demon 170 is the fastest-accelerating gas-powered car. It takes 1.66 seconds for the Dodge Challenger to go from 0–100 km/h, almost twice as long as the AMZ car.

Now, let’s explore how AMZ achieved such an impressive feat.

How did they do it?

The team didn’t add an excessive amount of horsepower or significantly reduce the weight of the vehicle. The compact car weighs 140 kg (309 lb) and relies on just 240 kW (326 hp) from its four hub motors.

Instead, the critical aspect is traction. Power is useless if it cannot be effectively transmitted to the ground, and this is where the AMZ team has made a notable enhancement.

Similar to the McMurtry Spierling and the Gordon Murray T.50, the AMZ car, named Mythen, leverages a vacuum fan system that generates downforce. The vacuum fan system causes Mythen to have exceptional grip.

As a result of these advancements, Maggetti went from 0–100 km/h in just 0.956 seconds. The speedometer reached triple digits a mere 12.3 meters (40.3 ft) from the starting line. These phenomenal figures have been officially certified by Guinness, and the AMZ team believes that their record will stand for a considerable amount of time.

Maggetti, when asked about the experience, mentioned feeling a few nerves. As reported by New Atlas, Maggetti told journalists:

You really notice your heart pounding away. But you’ve just got to do it, and see it through. Then everything’s better again. And then it’s fun, too – it’s like being on a roller coaster with a really fast start. You feel the tension, and a kick.

For more information, check out this incredible video below.