From Zero to Sixty in Less Than a Second

Most fast cars look fast. The Mythen does not. Yet this tiny single-seat electric kart, constructed by a group of students in Switzerland, recently became the quickest-­accelerating EV in the world upon posting a 0.956-second 0–62-mph time. More impressive is that it managed to reach that speed in a distance of just over 40 feet: That’s 0 to 60 mph in about half the length of a tennis court.

This story originally appeared in Volume 20 of Road & Track.

Mythen was built in 2019 by the Academic Motorsports Club Zurich (AMZ), which has held this record twice before, losing it last year to a rival team from the University of Stuttgart, which lowered the benchmark to 1.461 seconds. AMZ says the Mythen’s driver, Kate Maggetti, experienced peak acceleration of 3.81 g’s during her very brief run.

While AMZ isn’t sharing full technical details, doubtlessly wary of giving info to the competition, it has revealed that the car sports a 2-kWh battery, and four motors deliver a combined output of 322 hp. The car weighs just 302 pounds empty and around 400 with Maggetti on board (meaning she is nearly 200 pounds lighter than Sixties NASCAR legend Tiny Lund).

Beyond this newest Mythen’s power and lightness, its secret weapon seems to be a fan-­assisted ground-­effect system creating a partial vacuum under its diffuser to generate downforce—similar
in principle to the ­Brabham BT46-B Formula 1 car that raced, and won, only once. Just like this Mythen.

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