The multi-disciplinary, student-led UNSW Solar Racing Team eclipsed the record at the HMAS Albatross navy base airstrip in Nowra (Australia) before a crowd of spectators and team volunteers.
Sunswift Ivy produces about 1200 watts, roughly equivalent to the amount of power needed to run a small kitchen appliance.
The carbon-fibre race vehicle, which looks more like a UFO than a family car, normally uses its 400 silicon cells to charge a 25 kg battery, but this was removed for the record attempt, the team said. The vehicle was built by university engineering students.
“We broke the record at 10.32 this morning,” said Sunswift Project Manager Daniel Friedman shortly after the historic run. “The Guinness World Book of Records adjudicators were on hand, so it's all official. We've even been handed our certificate.”
Friedman later told local reporters that the team had expected to get its peak sun around noon, and so the record-breaking run was a “great result”.
“We hope the news will spur a lot more interest in solar energy and the debate about renewable energy technology," he said.
Professional racing driver Barton Mawer was the driver for the record-breaking run.
Afterwards he said, “I've been lucky enough to drive racing cars all around the world but this was right up there as a buzz”.
“To grab the world record is just great for the whole team, and the University of New South Wales put in a big effort to get this done and hopefully we can keep chipping away at it to raise the bar,” he said.
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