We’re not sure which is more impressive: that a team of Australian students set a new distance-speed record for an electric vehicle or the fact that the driver got that little solar-powered bad boy up to 82 miles per hour. Either way, the Sunswift team at University of New South Wales (NSW) has earned the right to crow about their solar-powered EV. It broke a record that stood for 26 years.

The team performed the feat a few months back, but it has now been officially verified by the Federation Internationale de l’Automobile governing body. The 700-pound car ran at an average speed of more than 100 kilometers per hour (62 mph) over a 500-kilometer (311-mile) stretch. To put those numbers another way, the Sunswift made a Chicago-to-Detroit-equivalent drive using about 44 cents worth of electricity, and it even had a few miles to spare. G’day, indeed.

It’s pretty heady stuff for a bunch of undergraduate students who’ve been continuing a great tradition since the Sunswift team was founded way back in 1995. Next, they’ll be working to get their vehicle street-legal by next March, adding things like headlights and windshield wipers. We like their chances. You can check out a news video of their achievement below.

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