AN electric vehicle has won the Institution of Mechanical Engineers’ Formula Student event for the first time in the competition’s history.

ETH Zurich, from Switzerland, won with 921.3 points at Silverstone as 2,000 students from around the world battled for the title.

It is believed to be the first time an electric vehicle has beaten cars powered by combustion engines in any accredited motorsport competition.

Another electric vehicle - built by German team UAS Zwickau - claimed second place with 851.5 points and their compatriots from the University of Stuttgart C came third with 814 points with their petrol-powered car.

The top UK team was the University of Huddersfield, who scored 502.6 - one place ahead of last year’s champions, Chalmers University of Technology.

With temperatures topping 30C, the competition saw some surprise results, with some well-fancied teams failing to complete the endurance event.

Hundreds of people packed the paddocks to cheer on their teams, as a year of work and thousands of hours spent in the garage came down to eight technical and dynamic events.

Formula Student took place at the home of British motorsport. Event patron Ross Brawn, team principal of Mercedes AMG PETRONAS, joined other high-profile names from F1 and British motorsport at the opening ceremony.

Jon Hilton, chairman of Formula Student, said: “Many congratulations to ETH Zurich on their very well deserved win.

“The electrically-powered cars have made huge progress going from being unable to complete the 22 Km endurance event to winning overall in just five years. We are delighted by this progress but we will have to see what needs to be done in the future to ensure petrol cars remain competitive.

"The standard of vehicles on display, and the ingenuity of the students who create them, never fails to amaze me. This year's competition showcased exactly why these men and women are among the world's best young engineers and all who took part should feel very proud of what they achieved."

Formula Student is the world’s largest student motorsport event.

Run by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, it challenges student engineers to design, build and race a single-seat racing car in one year.

The cars are then judged on their speed, acceleration, handling and endurance in a series of time-trial races, while the teams are tested on their design, costing and business presentation skills.