EcoWatch
Facebook 573k Twitter 238k Instagram 37k Subscribe Subscribe
  • Climate
  • Energy
  • Policy
  • Renewables
  • Culture
  • Science
  • Go Solar Today
      • Top Companies By State
        • California Solar Companies
        • Texas Solar Companies
        • New York Solar Companies
        • Florida Solar Companies
        • See All States
      • Top Incentives By State
        • California Solar Incentives
        • Texas Solar Incentives
        • New York Solar Incentives
        • Florida Solar Incentives
        • See All States
      • Solar Panel Costs By State
        • Solar Panel Costs in California
        • Solar Panel Costs in Texas
        • Solar Panel Costs in New York
        • Solar Panel Costs in Florida
        • See All States
      • Value of Solar by State
        • Is Solar Worth It In California?
        • Is Solar Worth It in Texas?
        • Is Solar Worth It New York?
        • Is Solar Worth It In Florida?
        • See All States
      • Company Reviews
        • Tesla Solar Review
        • Sunrun Solar Review
        • SunPower Solar Review
        • Vivint Solar Review
        • See All Companies
      • Common Solar Questions
        • Can You Get Free Solar Panels?
        • Does Solar Increase Home Value?
        • What’re The Best Solar Batteries?
        • Can You Finance Solar?
        • Where To Buy Solar Panels?
        • Payback On Solar Panels?
      • Solar Resources
        • Interactive Solar Calculator
        • Federal Solar Tax Credit 2023
        • Best Solar Panels For Most Homes
        • Tesla Solar Roof Review
        • Cheapest Solar Panels
      • Companies Compared
        • SunPower vs Tesla Solar
        • SunRun vs Tesla Solar
        • SunRun vs SunPower
        • SunPower vs Momentum Solar
        • SunPower vs ADT Solar
EcoWatch
  • Climate
  • Energy
  • Policy
  • Renewables
  • Culture
  • Science
  • Go Solar Today
    • Go Solar Today
    • Top Companies By State
      • California Solar Companies
      • Texas Solar Companies
      • New York Solar Companies
      • Florida Solar Companies
      • See All States
    • Top Incentives By State
      • California Solar Incentives
      • Texas Solar Incentives
      • New York Solar Incentives
      • Florida Solar Incentives
      • See All States
    • Solar Panel Costs By State
      • Solar Panel Costs in California
      • Solar Panel Costs in Texas
      • Solar Panel Costs in New York
      • Solar Panel Costs in Florida
      • See All States
    • Value of Solar by State
      • Is Solar Worth It In California?
      • Is Solar Worth It in Texas?
      • Is Solar Worth It New York?
      • Is Solar Worth It In Florida?
      • See All States
    • Company Reviews
      • Tesla Solar Review
      • Sunrun Solar Review
      • SunPower Solar Review
      • Vivint Solar Review
      • See All Companies
    • Common Solar Questions
      • Can You Get Free Solar Panels?
      • Does Solar Increase Home Value?
      • What’re The Best Solar Batteries?
      • Can You Finance Solar?
      • Where To Buy Solar Panels?
      • Payback On Solar Panels?
    • Solar Resources
      • Interactive Solar Calculator
      • Federal Solar Tax Credit 2023
      • Best Solar Panels For Most Homes
      • Tesla Solar Roof Review
      • Cheapest Solar Panels
    • Companies Compared
      • SunPower vs Tesla Solar
      • SunRun vs Tesla Solar
      • SunRun vs SunPower
      • SunPower vs Momentum Solar
      • SunPower vs ADT Solar

The best of EcoWatch right in your inbox. Sign up for our email newsletter!

    • About EcoWatch
    • Contact EcoWatch
    • Terms of Use
    • Privacy Policy
    • Learn About Solar Energy
    Facebook 573k Twitter 238k Instagram 37k
    EcoWatch
    • About EcoWatch
    • Contact EcoWatch
    • Terms of Use
    • Privacy Policy
    • Learn About Solar Energy
    Facebook 573k Twitter 238k Instagram 37k
    Home Renewable Energy

    Student Group Wins World Record With Speedy, Solar-Powered EV

    By: Olivia Rosane
    Updated: December 22, 2022
    Edited by Irma Omerhodzic
    Facebook icon Twitter icon Pinterest icon Email icon
    Sunswift 7 in action during the Guinness World Record attempt at the Australian Automotive Research Centre. Richard Freeman
    Why you can trust us

    Founded in 2005 as an Ohio-based environmental newspaper, EcoWatch is a digital platform dedicated to publishing quality, science-based content on environmental issues, causes, and solutions.

    Facebook icon Twitter icon Pinterest icon Email icon

    A group of students at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) in Sydney, Australia, have proven its possible to be both speedy and sustainable. 

    The team’s Sunswift 7 solar-powered electric vehicle (EV) won the Guiness World Record for  “Fastest EV over 1000km on a single charge.”

    “It feels very weird to think that we’ve helped to make something that’s the best in the entire world,” Sunswift Team Manager and UNSW Sydney mechanical engineering student Andrea Holden said in a UNSW press release. 

    💬 "…these young men and women are the future and they have already demonstrated here with Sunswift what they are capable of – imagine what they will do when we let them loose on the wider world."https://t.co/ZT4HjiR30i

    — UNSW (@UNSW) December 18, 2022

    In order to secure the world record, the team had to drive 1,000 kilometers (approximately 621 miles) in less than 12 hours. At the Australian Automotive Research Centre (AARC) in Wensleydale, Victoria, they managed it in 11 hours and 52.08 minutes, with eight minutes to spare! During that trip, the car traveled an average of nearly 85 kilometers per hour (approximately 53 miles per hour) over a distance longer than a drive between Sydney and Melbourne. 

    The team received the official Guinness World Record certificate a few days later once experts had had a chance to confirm the feat. 

    On-the-Go Solar Options From EcoWatch
    • Best Camping Solar Panels
    • Best Solar Panels for RVs and Campervans
    • Best Solar Panels for Boats

    “Two years ago, when we started to build this car, everything was going into lockdown and there were a lot of difficult moments,” Holden said in the press release. “But it’s been so rewarding to see the whole team come together and make so much progress and get us to this amazing point. It was a lot of work and a lot of hours and a lot of stress, but it’s all been worth it. This world record is validation of all the effort everyone in the team has put in.”

    Sunswift 7 is the latest in a line of solar-powered electric vehicles from Sunswift Racing, which has been building these cars in Sydney since 1996, according to its website. The new car weighs 500 kilograms (approximately 1,102 pounds), about a quarter the weight of a Tesla, according to designboom. The team achieved the low weight by cutting out typical passenger-vehicle features like airbags and air conditioning. However, the speed was also helped along by the vehicle’s design.  

    “This team have focused on ultimate efficiency in order to break this world record,” Team Principal and UNSW Professor of Practice Richard Hopkins said in the press release. “They have shown what is ultimately achievable if you concentrate on aerodynamics, and rolling resistance and the use of smart materials.”

    The car isn’t the only student-designed EV to break speed records in 2022. A team from the University of Stuttgart in Germany earned a Guinness World Record for building an EV that accelerated from zero to 100 kilometers per hour (approximately 62 miles per hour) in 1.461 seconds on 23 September 2022.

    While speedy EVs like these won’t end up on the conventional car market, the innovations behind them can still have an impact beyond racing. Hopkins said the Sunswift 7 only used 3.8 kilowatt hours of energy for 100 kilometers during the record drive, which is about a quarter of the energy used by the most efficient EVs on the market today.

    “[W]e have shown that if you want to make cars more efficient, more sustainable, more environmentally friendly, then it is possible,” he said. “I used to work in Formula One and nobody thinks we’ll be driving F1 cars on the road in five or 10 years. But the technology they use in F1 really pushes the boundaries and some of that filters down [to regular vehicles] and that’s what we are trying to do with Sunswift and what this world record shows is achievable.”

    Subscribe to get exclusive updates in our daily newsletter!

      By signing up, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy & to receive electronic communications from EcoWatch Media Group, which may include marketing promotions, advertisements and sponsored content.

      Olivia Rosane

      Olivia Rosane is a freelance writer and reporter with a decade’s worth of experience. She has been contributing to EcoWatch daily since 2018 and has also covered environmental themes for Treehugger, The Trouble, YES! Magazine and Real Life. She holds a Ph.D. in English Literature from the University of Cambridge and a master’s in Art and Politics from Goldsmiths, University of London.
      Facebook icon Twitter icon Pinterest icon Email icon

      Read More

      Despite Energy Crisis, Wind and Solar Broke EU Electricity Generation Records in 2022
      2022 was a difficult year for the European Union energy-wise.
      By Olivia Rosane
      Exxon Wallows in Record-Breaking Profits in 2022
      What could dwarf Chevron's biggest-ever profits of $35.5 billion in
      By Climate Nexus
      These Artists Are Turning Their London Street Into a Solar Power Station
      The climate crisis, the energy crisis in Europe and rising
      By Cristen Hemingway Jaynes

      Subscribe to get exclusive updates in our daily newsletter!

        By signing up, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy & to receive electronic communications from EcoWatch Media Group, which may include marketing promotions, advertisements and sponsored content.

        Latest Articles

        • City Trees Save Lives, First-of-Its-Kind Study Finds
          by Olivia Rosane
          February 1, 2023
        • 7 Colorado River States Miss Deadline for Water Reduction Plan
          by Cristen Hemingway Jaynes
          February 1, 2023
        • Switching From Gas to Induction Stoves Leads to Major Drop in Indoor Air Pollution in Bronx Pilot Program
          by Paige Bennett
          February 1, 2023
        • Despite Energy Crisis, Wind and Solar Broke EU Electricity Generation Records in 2022
          by Olivia Rosane
          February 1, 2023
        • Exxon Wallows in Record-Breaking Profits in 2022
          by Climate Nexus
          February 1, 2023
        • Biden’s EPA Protects Alaska’s Bristol Bay From Controversial Pebble Mine
          by Olivia Rosane
          January 31, 2023
        • Study Using AI Warns We Are 10 to 15 Years From Breaching 1.5°C Paris Agreement Goal
          by Cristen Hemingway Jaynes
          January 31, 2023
        • These Artists Are Turning Their London Street Into a Solar Power Station
          by Cristen Hemingway Jaynes
          January 31, 2023
        EcoWatch

        The best of EcoWatch right in your inbox. Sign up for our email newsletter!

          • Climate Climate
          • Animals Animals
          • Health + Wellness Health + Wellness
          • Insights + Opinion Insights + Opinion
          • Adventure Adventure
          • Oceans Oceans
          • Business Business
          • Solar Solar
          • About EcoWatch
          • Contact EcoWatch
          • EcoWatch Reviews
          • Terms of Use
          • Privacy Policy
          • Learn About Solar Energy
          • Learn About Deregulated Energy
          • EcoWatch UK
          Follow Us
          Facebook 573k
          Twitter 238k
          Instagram 37k
          Subscribe Subscribe

          Experts for a healthier planet and life.

          Mentioned by:
          Learn more