There’s a New 0-60 MPH World Record for EVs: 0.965 Seconds
This is what zero-to-60 mph in 40 feet looks like.
A Swiss racing team has blown the zero-to-60 mph record for electric vehicles out of the water. It knocked more than four tenths off the previous record holder's effort to bring the time-to-beat under one second, or 0.956 seconds to be exact. Better yet, its record run was filmed from on board—and it's over before you even realize what's happening.
The record was set by AMZ Racing, using a car it calls Mythen WR. It's a modified version of the team's 2019 Formula Student car, the European equivalent of Formula SAE. Already built as a barebones, ultra-light open-wheel racing vehicle, it was the perfect candidate for a lightening program to take on the EV acceleration record.
To do so, AMZ removed the car's rear wing to optimize its aerodynamic profile. It also upgraded the original drivetrain of four 49-horsepower electric motors to top out at 322 hp, using motors and inverters of proprietary design. The top speed is only 77 mph, but that's not important when you're not aiming for that in the first place. Besides, 322 hp was more than enough to cut the car's zero-to-60 time in half.
In a filmed acceleration test, the Mythen WR went from a standstill to 62 mph (or 100 kmh) in just 0.956 seconds, reaching that speed in just 40 feet and 1.9 inches. Peak acceleration topped out at 3.81 G, which isn't quite as vicious as an F1 car's cornering potential, but considerably more than they manage under acceleration.
That said, Mythen WR's record is for EVs, not cars overall, as Top Fuel dragsters outstrip this build in every metric. The NHRA says Top Fuel cars peak at five G of acceleration, while they've also been recorded pulling zero-to-60 in under half a second—supposedly, they'll reach that speed before even fully crossing the start line. The weight of lithium-ion batteries makes it unlikely that we'll ever see that performance from an EV, but there's no telling what the future will bring. Should solid-state batteries pan out, we can expect the record to fall even further.
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