Solar Car: Sunswift 7 Sets Speed Record

The Sunswift project brings together engineers and students to push the limits of solar-powered cars. With its latest prototype, it has just set a new speed record.

Led by the Australian University of New South Wales, Sunswift already has extensive experience with solar cars. The organization, which mainly consists of students, is already on its seventh prototype. And this latest one has just made headlines by setting a new record: the fastest solar car over 1,000 km.

It was on the track at the Wensleydale testing center (Victoria state) that Sunswift 7 achieved its performance, officially recognized by Guinness World Records. The 1,000 km were covered in one go, without recharging the car. The journey lasted exactly 11 hours and 52.08 minutes, corresponding to an average speed of 85 km/h.

The program that led to the creation of Sunswift 7 began two years ago, during the height of the pandemic lockdown. Very lightweight at around 500 kilograms, the Australian solar car also features a streamlined body to minimize energy consumption. During the record run, its energy use was measured at 3.8 kWh / 100 km. This is a very low figure, comparable for example to the 16.6 kWh / 100 km of a Peugeot e-208 (WLTP cycle).

Sunswift 7: a record that hangs by a thread

While the record attempt was successful, Sunswift teams had quite a scare when the car suddenly stopped due to a battery issue. An immobilization of more than 15 minutes would have resulted in the record being nullified. Fortunately for Sunswift, the problem was fixed in 14 minutes and 52 seconds! Sunswift 7 also had to visit the pit stops for the drivers to switch, but that was well planned.

Read also: Sono Sion: big promotion to save the solar car