Students from the Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands have smashed the electric car world record for the 0-60 mph run using a car built themselves. Their time, using the DUT13 electric car pictured above, was a blistering 2.15 seconds. The time is for acceleration to 100 kmh (62 mph). The previous record stood at 2.68 seconds.
As Wired points out, the students even managed to beat the fastest 0-60 mph time for a production car: 2.3 seconds, clocked by a 500-horsepower Ariel Atom V8 back in 2010.
“We thought that under these conditions we’d be happy with 2.30,” team manager Tim de Moree said. “But we really didn’t expect 2.15.”
The DUT13 used by the students weighs just 320 pounds and features four electric motors--one for each wheel. Each motor delivers just 25 kilowatts (33 horsepower) horsepower, providing a combined output of 100 kilowatts (132 horsepower).
The vehicle itself is built around a carbon fiber reinforced plastic monocoque, to which all the vital components are attached. The battery is a lithium-ion unit weighing about 95 pounds and registering a 6.3-kilowatt-hour rating.
Behind the wheel was 24-year-old Marly Kuijpers--the smallest and lightest member of the team.
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