Japanese Solar Vehicle Wins World Solar Challenge

The World Solar Challenge started off in 1987, and features teams of some of the top engineering colleges from around the world vying to get hold of a top spot, while traveling thousands of miles in solar powered racecars. The challenge puts up a grueling task for the vehicles which are powered by only solar energy. This year, the cars covered a distance of nearly 1,864 miles through a route that stretched from Darwin in Northern Australia to Adelaide in South Australia.

Winner of the race was Tokai University’s Tokai Challenger, which covered the journey in 29 hours and 49 minutes, with an average speed of 63 mph. The Nuna 5 from Delft University came in second, while the third spot went to the more famous Infinium from the University of Michigan.

These solar panel clad racecars aren’t simply racecars, they also function as hallmarks of solar and electric vehicle technology, and also help spreading environmental awareness. Moreover, the technology developed could also find use in mainstream vehicles. The best example here would be the Chevrolet Volt, which benefited from the technology used in the Sunraycer from the 1987 World Solar Challenge.

Source: Inhabitat

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