0-100kph in 1.5sec: Formula Student team builds fastest accelerating car in the world

The students of Academic Motorsports Club Zurich (AMZ) of ETH, Zurich have built the fastest accelerating car in the world – and it’s all electric.

The car reached a speed of 100kph within a distance of less than 30 metres on a military airbase near Zurich, breaking the world record of 1.779 seconds. Thanks to the use of carbon fibre materials, the car weighs a mere 168 kilograms and features four self-developed wheel hub motors transferring 200 hp of power to the tarmac via four-wheel drive technology.

The 0-100kph in a scant 1.513sec is a whole 1.3 seconds faster than the Tesla Model S, considered to be the fastest accelerating four- door sedan ever made and more than half a second faster than the Porsche 918 Spyder which is the fastest accelerating car ever produced.

The students have developed this car to participate at the Formula Student Germany or FSG August 8-14 2016 at Hockenheimring. The competition is spread over seven days and around 115 teams from all over the world will participate in various events. This competition however is unlike any other as the teams are judged not only on the basis of speed but also with respect to product presentations, budgetary control, product design and business model divided broadly into two categories of events – Static and Dynamic. The team with an overall highest score is declared a winner. Last year, the AMZ Racing Team from the ETH Zurich, was awarded second place in the overall rankings, making it one of the potential candidates for the podium this year, too.

The team is sponsored by the BMW Group which has also sponsored two other teams participating in the competition. The teams receive financial support, design assistance, manufacturing support as well as driving assistance by the best minds that are part of the BMW Group.

The Formula Student Germany is one of the many competitions in the world where students can showcase their engineering and technical skills in design, manufacturing and testing of automobiles. The event also sees participation of teams representing various engineering colleges from India too.

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