Students from the University of Munich were winners again last Sunday night. Their team, called WARR, built a demo Hyperloop pod and sent it down a test track just outside of SpaceX's headquarters, reaching more than 200 mph using its own homemade propulsion system and braking in time before the track's end.

The speed was leagues better than the speed that WARR clocked during the last SpaceX Hyperloop competition in January (58 mph). At the time, WARR won its first award for having the fastest demo pod. On Sunday, the German team was able to best its official record by nearly 150 mph with some clever engineering.

WARR's winning speed is faster than the fastest test pod speed publicized by Hyperloop One, the most prominent private company trying to bring the Hyperloop to reality. In early August, Hyperloop One claimed it sent its demo pod down its Nevada-based test track at 192 mph (or 310 kph compared to WARR's 350 kph).

For a little background: the Hyperloop concept was popularized by Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX. In 2013, the Silicon Valley mogul wrote a white paper detailing a human transportation system made of pods that levitated on air bearings, moving at speeds faster than 700 mph through a low-pressure tube.

Musk decided not to pursue the Hyperloop as a business venture, but SpaceX began holding competitions for third-party teams to show off their engineering skills. The competitions have proved hugely popular.

Last weekend, WARR wasn't the only team to test its mettle on SpaceX's track. Dozens of other teams of students, volunteers, and professionals came to show off their demo pods at the street fair-like competition outside of Los Angeles. All of them were building pods for speed, but the pods tackled the physical challenges of operating in a low-pressure tube differently. Some pods levitated on air bearings; some used magnets. WARR had its own propulsion system and had to keep its lithium polymer battery in a separate, pressurized container to keep the battery from exploding.

Of course, none of these pods can hold people yet, and none of them perfectly replicate Musk's vision. But with each competition, they're getting closer. To see team leaders explain their pods and the building experience in more detail, check out the video above.

Listing image by Jing Niu/Ars Technica