A team of students have built an electric car that will likely hold a key long-distance speed record once it has been certified by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA).

The car, known as the Sunswift eVe, may even become the first street-legal solar-powered car in the world next year.

The students, all at the University of New South Wales in Australia, told the Washington Post they hope their record-breaking car will be road ready and certified by 2015.

To accomplish that goal, the team has to finish a number of small modifications, adding headlights, dashboards and a new steering wheel.

The UNSW Solar Racing Team's Sunswift eVe unofficially became the fastest electric car in the world over a distance of 500km (about 310 miles) on a single battery charge.

Though no numbers have been released or approved by FIA, the Sunswift eVe team say it held an average speed of more than 100km/h (62 mph) over that distance during the July 23 attempt. That topped the previous record of 73 km/h (45 mph), according to the UNSW team.

In terms of sheer speed, Sunswift eVe has previously topped out at 132 km/h (82 mph).

The FIA did not respond to a request for comment concerning Sunswift's new record or the previous record that was broken. A spokesperson at the UNSW told Mashable that the team attempted the FIA land speed record for electric vehicles over a 500km distance, weighing up to 499 kilograms (1,100 pounds).

The UNSW Solar Racing Team's Sunswift eVe is displayed after another day of testing on the track on May 24, 2014. Image: Flickr, UNSW Solar Racing Team (SUNSWIFT)

The Sunswift eVe's average speed of about 62 mph over the 300 mile distance compares favorably to the Tesla Model S, which averages 55 mph over the same distance.

The higher speed could be a result of the Sunswift eVe not having the interior amenities (such as heating and air conditioning) or the safety features you'd expect in a normal car, which would add weight to the electric vehicle and likely decrease performance (a Tesla Model S weighs 4,647 pounds, making it ineligible for the record Sunswift attempted).

The Sunswift seats two passengers and comes equipped with silicon solar cells, a Panasonic Lithium-ion battery and carbon fiber exterior. The battery pack can either be charged by a normal wall outlet or through the solar panels.

It takes eight hours to completely charge the battery in a wall outlet. Parked in the sun for the same amount of time, it can provide up to two hours of driving.

The record-breaking solar-powered car first took to the road at the 2013 World Solar Challenge — a competition in Australia that pits the most efficient electric cars designed by teams against one another in a more than 1,800 mile race. The race starts in the city of Darwin (in the Northern Territory) and finishes in Adelaide (in the Southern Territory).