Furka - The Fastest Electric Race Car Prototype in the World

On a simple search on the web, you'll find a multitude of projects aimed at creating some sort of an electric race car that can revolutionize the motorsport world in a not-so-near future. However, at the moment, all these projects are basically drawings and concepts. And we all know the manufacturing process of a complex race car – drivetrain, suspension, chassis, etc – is much more complex than just putting it on a sheet of paper and bragging about your futuristic ideas to the world.

AMZ Racing Team – which comprises about 26 students from various Swiss universities – has actually gone though with such a plan, rolling out an electric race car prototype that aims to outperform a regular internal combustion engined racer. The car is dubbed the Furka and, more importantly, it's not some kind of futuristic drawing but a real car.

The team of students started the project in the summer of 2009, when they decided to develop an electric race car that can “outperform the ICE cars in every discipline.” And, if you look at the performance figures posted by the car in the Formula Student competition, you might be blown away.

The car car sprint from naught to 62 mph (100 km/h) in 3.5 seconds thanks to its lightweight chassis made of carbon-fiber reinforced plastic. Nozag AG was responsible for the motor pinion that fits directly onto the shaft of the electric motors and provide the nitride surface of a long life. The other small yet important parts of the car were developed by sponsors of the Furka project, including ThyssenKrupp Presta, SR Technics and learning centers LFW.

As reported by Solar-Driver-Online.com, the car has so far competed in several races on renown European circuits such as Silverstone and Hockenheim, scoring fastest lap times in all of them. The races that form this series (Formula Student) are focused on prototype race cars developed by engineering students from around the world. According to the aforementioned source, no less than 430 students are involved in this year after year.