Sunswift Solar Electric Car Breaking the Guinness world record [Video]

News footage from the UNSW Sunswift team's record-breaking run at Nowra NSW where the solar car, IVy, became officially the world's fastest solar car with a speed of 88 km/h.

Aussie Solar car breaks world speed record

An Australian car is officially the world's fastest solar-powered vehicle, racing almost 10km/h above the previous record.

The solar racer Sunswift IV - known as IVy - was designed and built at the University of NSW.

"We've beaten the record by 10kms (per hour) - it reached a speed of 88kms - and we think we can get it over 90kms," a UNSW spokesman told AAP on Friday.

Powered by silicon solar cells trapping energy from the sun, the IVy broke the official Guinness World Record in a time trial on Friday.

The previous record was 79km/h.

In a race in 2009 from Darwin to Adelaide, IVy hit a top speed of 103km/h and on Friday morning it unofficially broke the record several times in trial runs.

The official speed trial took place at the HMAS Albatross naval base at Nowra on the NSW south coast, with professional drivers Barton Mawer and Craig Davis at IVy's controls.

Vehicles attempting to break the speed record in the category are required to be powered only by solar cells.

IVy normally uses its cells to charge a 25kg battery, but this was removed for the record attempt.

At speed the car produces about 1,200 watts, roughly the same power as a household toaster.

Sunswift to attempt to break world solar land speed record

Wednesday Test Run from UNSW Solar Racing Team on Vimeo.


The University of New South Wales (UNSW) Sunswift Solar Racing Team will attempt to break the world land speed record for a solar car next month.

The team's solar car, affectionately known IVy, is a $280,000 three-wheeled, hand-built, carbon-fibre machine which can reach a top speed of 115 km/h using just 1300 W, the same amount of power it takes to toast two slices of bread.

With nothing more than solar energy from photovoltaic cells (no additional power from a battery), the team expects the car to hit at least 90km/h, which would break the record by 11km/h.

At a recent test run at the Western Sydney International Dragway at Eastern Creek earlier this month Business team leader and driver Kristen Casalenuovo said the attempt would show just how quickly solar innovations are progressing.

"A lot of the things created within solar have been adopted with electric cars seen on the road," the photovoltaics PhD student said.

A Guinness World Book of Records official will attend the attempt at an airstrip at the HMAS Albatross near Nowra on the southern NSW coast.

The team’s world record attempt looks promising after they recorded a top speed of 115km/h during the 3000km Global Green Challenge from Darwin to Adelaide.

The Sunswift team need perfect conditions with no wind or clouds so the panels can generate maximum possible energy from the sun with minimal aerodynamic resistance.

Sunswift

BYD to kick start US business with K9 electric bus

Chinese battery and car maker BYD Co. plans to start test-marketing an all-electric battery car in the U.S. next year, after almost a year's delay, and is in talks with officials in Los Angeles to supply e-buses that could eventually lead to a manufacturing plant in the city, a senior company executive said.

Originally, the e6 vehicle was supposed to launch in the U.S. this year. The delay has been a setback for the global ambitions of China's auto sector, which wants to use electric-vehicle technology to close the distance with more-established global car makers.

The first electric bus from BYD has been codenamed K9 and maybe the first mass produced Chinese electric vehicle to be widely sold on American roads. The K9 series of buses may be produced in LA due to their size and the expense of shipping something as heavy as a bus, which would make great PR for China PLC as an investor in the American job market.

BYD already has plans to make LA its US headquarters and plans to initially hire around 50-150 workers for the project which is still on going.

The K9 was officially unveiled at the recent EVS25 electric vehicle show in early November, according to BYD statistics the K9 will be able to travel for 300km on a single charge, which reduces to 250km should the air conditioner unit be activated. On the charging front the batteries can reach 50% charge within 30 minutes, which should make the K9 a great option for a green thinking State like California.