The University of New South Wales Sydney (UNSW) Sunswift 7 car has just toured on a circuit 1,000 km on a single charge, in less than 12 hours. Quite an achievement that highlights its aerodynamics and efficiency.
UNSW engineers have been working on cars that run on solar energy since 1996. Since then they have not stopped setting records, the last one with this Sunswift 7 that weighs only 500 kg. Yes, that forced to give up air conditioning, ABS brakes, airbags or even windshield wipers. Despite these details that would prevent its approval, its aerodynamic efficiency stands out. Compared to the 0.208 Cx of a Tesla Model S, the Sunswift 7 announces 0.095.
The team spent two years designing the Sunswift 7 with one goal in mind: the Guinness record for fastest solar electric car over 1,000km. They tried it on the test track of the Highway Circuit in it Australian Automotive Research Center.
The Sunswift 7 completing 240 laps on a single charge. Not without setbacks, as a battery management issue and a flat tire had to be overcome. They made driver changes every few hours, and the vehicle completed the 1,000 km journey in 11 hours, 53 minutes and 32 seconds, at almost 85 km/h on average. The team is now awaiting official confirmation of the car’s telemetry data to achieve the Guinness World Record Certificate.
Power consumption was just 3.8kWh/100km. An extraordinary fact, since the most efficient electric cars that we tested are around 15 kWh/100 km and the normal thing is to approach 20 kWh/100 km many times ». Professor Richard Hopkins, team principal, however indicates that “the Sunswift 7 is not a production car of the future, as we have compromised comfort and the cost is prohibitive. But we have shown that if you want to make cars more efficient, more sustainable, more respectful of the environment, you can”.
We will see the Sunswift 7 again in the Bridgestone World Solar Challenge, a 3,000 km course through the Australian desert, in 2023.
Source: University of New South Wales
Photo gallery (by Richard Freeman for UNSW):
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