Student-built electric car surpasses world record for distance on a single charge

Reports have revealed a team of students at the Technical University of Munich built an electric car that set a new distance record on a single charge for a non-solar EV at 2,574km.

According to ArsTechnica, the EV called muc22, achieved the feat using a battery capacity less than many plug-in hybrids at only 15.5kWh. With that being said, this also comes with some drawbacks. For example, muc22 has a top speed of 42 kilometres per hour.

When compared to most passenger vehicles regardless of powertrain, the car is also diminutive, with muc22 weighing only 170kg without a passenger.

The car was first unveiled back in 2022 by the team, and at the time, it was powered by dual-440W electric motors. And for the record run, muc22 made do with 400W, approximately 268 times less power than the least powerful EV on sale today.

The technology for the car is unique as it uses a permanent magnet design with a gallium nitride inverter. Most production cars use silicon carbide inverters. The test was conducted in an empty Munich Airport hangar to negate any interference from weather and achieved a range of 2,574km on a single charge.

The previous record was 1,609km on a single charge.