New world record: 0 to 100 km/h in less than a second

A group of students broke the 0 to 100 km/h world record in an electric car. The EV only needed a few meters of asphalt for this.

Traffic light sprints are no longer what they once were. Electric cars are breaking one record after another. Most recently, the 1,914 hp Rimac Nevera broke 23 records in one day. Among other things, the old 0-100 km/h world record for a production car was broken. The electric hypercar achieved this in just 1.81 seconds.

From 0 to 100 km/h in 0.956 seconds

However, this does not come close to the records set by the students at ETH Zurich and the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences. They built an electric car called Mythen with the sole goal of setting a new 0-100 km/h record. Mission accomplished, as the student team managed to reach 100 km/h in just 0.956 seconds and 12.3 meters. Significantly faster than the previous world record of 1.461 seconds.

To accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in less than a second, the Swiss students use four electric motors; one in each wheel. The total output of 326 hp may not seem very impressive at first glance, but it is when you consider that the car only weighs 140 kilograms. This results in an insane power-to-weight ratio of 2.3 hp per kilogram. We have not yet taken the weight of the driver Kate Maggetti into account.

Fight for the world record

The key to a fast sprint time is traction. Spoilers are of little use because they only become effective at higher speeds. For this reason, the student team uses a fan that actively sucks the car to the ground.

It is not the first time that the Swiss have broken the record. In 2014 and 2016 they were also the fastest to accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h. Then it was students from the University of Stuttgart who set the record. Now the world record is back in Swiss hands.