Going the distance

The ‘Fastest EV over 1000km – single charge’. That’s the title the Sunswift Racing Team was chasing over the weekend with the latest iteration of its solar-powered vehicle, Sunswift 7, unveiled earlier in the year.

The time to beat was 12 hours, and at the Australian Automotive Research Centre just outside of Geelong, Sunswift 7 delivered the goods, knocking more than six minutes off the existing Guinness World Record, achieving an average speed of 84km/hand an efficiency return of just under 3.8kWh/100km.

To put the achievement into perspective, the team’s car travelled more than the distance from Sydney to Melbourne on its single charge, its 38kWh battery capable of significantly longer with maximum range of as much as 1300km/h according to Professor of Practice and Team Principal, Richard Hopkins.

Although still awaiting the ‘rubber stamp’ from the good folk at Guinness in London to make the new record offical, the achievement tops off yet another outstanding year for the 80-strong team of young engineers who compromise the Sunswift Racing Team.

Just a week before the record attempt they were demonstrating the car’s capabilities to the packed stands at the Adelaide 500 Supercars round as well as appearing on Channel 7’s Sunrise program over the weekend to share technology of Sunswift 7 with a wider viewing audience.

That series of demonstrations during the Adelaide Supercars round included a stint by Supercar driver and last year’s Audi TCR Champion, Chaz Mostert, driving Sunswift 7 remotely to demonstrate the car’s remote capabilities using the Optus 5G network.

A centrepiece of the University of New South Wales (UNSW) Engineering Faculty, the Sunswift Racing Team brings together 80 of the brightest minds from the celebrated engineering school across a range of disciplines in a team that has pushed the boundaries of solar propulsion since the projected was founded in the mid 1990s. Since its inception it has successfully competed in Bridgestone World Solar Challenge since 1996 with increasingly sophisticated vehicles designed and built by the students using highly-specialised third party suppliers as required.

Under the tutelage of Professor Richard Hopkins who came to UNSW from the rarified atmosphere of Formula 1, the team’s latest milestone clearly demonstrates the sophistication of the technology and design employed in an area that is increasingly important as the world looks for ways to produce more and more efficient means of transportation.

Audi Australia’s association with the Sunswift Racing Team began when Richard Hopkins contacted the brand about the possibility of procuring a set of headlights for Sunswift 7 – a request that resulted in the donation of a whole Audi A7 Sportback to the engineering faculty through the Audi Foundation.

The Sunswift Racing Team is recognised as a leader in its field, very much pushing the boundaries and refining technologies and designs that will have a real impact on the mobility of tomorrow.

Congratulations to all at the Sunswift Racing Team on another milestone.