Video: The biannual World Solar Challenge is coming up in a couple of months, and the teams competing in 2017’s 3000km-long Adelaide to Darwin challenge intend to complete their journeys on solar power alone. Western Sydney Uni has always been a strong contender, and this year’s car looks more impressive than ever.
22 students comprise Western Sydney Uni’s Solar Car team, and for the next 80 days they’ll be slaving away in the lab to make sure the 2017 car is ready for competition. “In 2013, SolAce had a max speed of 110km per hour, and weighed 300kg. In 2015, UNLIMITED had a max speed of 129km per hour, and weighed 170kg,” says AJ Verma from WSU’s School of Computing, Engineering and Mathematics.
“In each outing, the car has evolved. This time, we’ve worked to improve every aspect at a fundamental level to create a more cohesive package — every detail counts, every single gram, and the result will be the most efficient car we’ve ever made.”
More info on the Western Sydney Uni entrant will be revealed at the end of the month. We followed WSU’s journey in 2013, and we’re looking forward to seeing how they perform in the upcoming World Solar Challenge again in 2017. [YouTube]