Impressed with Tesla’s Ludicrous mode? Student project electric car does 0-96km/h in half the time

Electric vehicles, by nature of their powertrains’ instantly accessible torque, are capable of some rather brisk acceleration. In fact, some of the quickest machinery at the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb are electric vehicles.

When it comes to passenger cars, the Tesla Model S P90D is remarkable, with 762 hp propelling the big four-door from 0-60 mph (0-96 km/h) in 2.8 seconds, or 0-100 km/h in just under 3.0 seconds. A university project, however, has gone even quicker.

Students from Swiss universities ETH Zurich and Hochschule Luzern – who are part of Academic Motorsports club Zurich (AMZ) – created “Grimsel,” an electric single-seater in 2014 for the Formula Student engineering competition.

Now, Grimsel has just established itself as the fastest accelerating EV from 0-96 km/h, with a time of 1.513 seconds. The previous record was set July last year by another Formula Student electric vehicle in Germany, with a time of 1.779 seconds.

Like AMZ’s previous projects, Grimsel was named after a traditional Swiss Alpine pass. Motive power comes from four wheel hub motors developed in-house, collectively giving an output of 200 hp and over 1,700 Nm of torque. Built around a carbon monocoque chassis weighing 14 kg, the complete vehicle weighs 168 kg, which means Grimsel has a power-to-weight ratio of 1,190 hp and 10,000 Nm per tonne.

Though Grimsel was driven in a straight line for the purposes of the record run, it appears to have a comprehensive chassis management package. Individual wheel hub motors means all-wheel-drive, and each wheel is managed individually by a traction control system. The independent motors also allow for torque vectoring for directional response in addition to the conventional steering on the front axle.

In terms of suspension, Grimsel adopts magnetorheological adaptive damping, like in certain, more exotic performance cars. When activated, a magnetic flux passes through the damping fluid which contain iron particles, thus changing the viscosity of the fluid and consequently altering the suspension’s damping characteristics.

Formula Student, for which Grimsel was developed, is a high-performance engineering project run by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers which challenges university students to conceive, design, build, cost, present and compete as a team with a small single-seat racing car in a series of static and dynamic competitions.

Looking to sell your car? Sell it with Carro.

10% discount when you renew your car insurance

Compare prices between different insurer providers and use the promo code 'PAULTAN10' when you make your payment to save the most on your car insurance renewal compared to other competing services.

Car Insurance

Mick Chan

Open roads and closed circuits hold great allure for Mick Chan. Driving heaven to him is exercising a playful chassis on twisty paths; prizes ergonomics and involvement over gadgetry. Spent three years at a motoring newspaper and short stint with a magazine prior to joining this website.

 

Comments

  • Not taking credits away from the students, but try making it as a 4 door sedan, with full safety specs. Then only start comparing with Tesla

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 15 Thumb down 6
    • Toyotaloser on Jun 25, 2016 at 4:07 am

      Not to bash but campro 1.6l and heavier iriz is more frugal than 1.5l and lighter vios. If jepunis overlord engineers are so good try to make it as heavy as iruz with full safety specs, then start boast with toyota quality

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 2 Thumb down 23
      • Stupid Proton Loser on Jun 25, 2016 at 12:03 pm

        Not to bash but my Proton always break down even though they are drinking more fuel than my cow. The Campro 1.6l makes so much noise that even my cat scared to go near it. If the Bumi overlord engineers are so good, they should make it less heavy without stupid jerking Punch CVT, then only come here to boost with Proton quality in a NON Proton article

        Like or Dislike: Thumb up 3 Thumb down 0
      • Redidiot on Jun 26, 2016 at 7:33 pm

        What the hell does that have to do with the story?

        Like or Dislike: Thumb up 1 Thumb down 0
      • Proton Loser on Jun 26, 2016 at 11:37 pm

        Why want to bring non-proton related topics in here? Want to heboh-heboh like Dato Vida is it? Hari Raya also want to show stupidity

        Like or Dislike: Thumb up 1 Thumb down 0
  • I believe our local graduates can do better

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 8 Thumb down 0
    • They did. They made some E cars that drove all the way to Hatyai (or was it Bangkok?). E cars is all about endurance not speed, sdo our local grads got their priorities right.

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 7 Thumb down 0
  • Gong Gong Ka on Jun 24, 2016 at 7:29 pm

    So quiet….no sound of engine???
    Tak macho la…..

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 2
 

Add a comment

required

required