The record run took place in early January at the HMAS Albatross navy base airstrip in Nowra, Australia. The previous record was beaten by more than 10 km/h.
The solar vehicle was designed and built by UNSW students. The Sunswift IVy is a three-wheeled vehicle with a monocoque carbon fibre body, brushless CSIRO 3 phase DC 1800 W motor, solar array producing about 1200 W (the same it takes to run a toaster) and usually, a 24.75 kg (55.56 lb) lithium ion polymer battery pack.
However, as the record is for cars power-ed exclusively by silicon solar cells, the battery was removed for the attempt.
The record-breaking run was piloted by professional racing driver Barton Mawer and Craig Davis from the electric car company Tesla’s European operations.
The run took place at 10:32, although the team had not expected to get peak sun power until noon, so the record was broken earlier than anticipated.
The team believed it could get the record to over 90 km/h, but there was no improvement in the time in subsequent runs. Rain at 13:30 then prevented further attempts.
After breaking the record, Mawer said the car handled reasonably well.
Adjudicators from The Guinness World Book of Records were on hand to witness the run, officially recognised the new record and handed over a certificate.
The previous record of 78 km/h was set by GM Sunraycer in 1987.
This isn’t the first time the UNSW's Sunswift IVy was successful. It also competed in the 3 000 km Global Green Challenge race from Darwin to Adelaide in 2009, winning its category.
Officially the fastest solar powered car - UNSW's Sunswift IVy.
The Sunswift IVy at HMAS Albatross navy base airstrip in Nowra, NSW, Australia.
