The Solutra is the first solar car designed by a group of students, the Raedthuys Solar Team, of the University of Twente. It participated in the 8th World Solar Challenge in 2005 and finished 9th place. Another Dutch team won the race with their car Nuna 3.
This solar car is the current FIA world record holder on the 1 km with a flying start. This record has been set on August 28, 2005, at the Gronausestraat in Enschede, The Netherlands.
| Length | 4999mm |
| Width | 1799mm |
| Height | 800mm |
| Vehicle Weight | 210 kg |
| Drag coefficient | 0,08 CdA |
| Panel efficiency | 24,5% |
| Battery capacity | 5.5kWh |
| Top speed | 125 km/h |
| 1000 km average | 85 km/h |
The World Solar Challenge (WSC), since 2013 named Bridgestone World Solar Challenge, is an international event for solar powered cars driving 3000 kilometres through the Australian outback.
Nuna is the name of a series of manned solar powered race cars that have won the World Solar Challenge in Australia seven times: in 2001, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2013, 2015 and 2017. The vehicles are built by students who are part of the "Brunel Solar Team" at the Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands, sponsored by Brunel.
The University of Minnesota Solar Vehicle Project, or UMNSVP, is a team of undergraduate students from the University of Minnesota that designs and constructs solar-powered cars. In its 31 years, it has established itself as one of the world's top solar racing teams, and the top Cruiser/Multi-Occupant Vehicle team in the Western Hemisphere, with top-two finishes in eighteen of thirty-four events entered.
The Nuna 3 is a solar car developed by Nuon Solar Team form the Delft University of Technology in 2004-2005 for the 2005 World Solar Challenge.
The Sunraycer was a solar-powered race car designed to compete in the World Solar Challenge, the world's first race featuring solar-powered cars. The Sunraycer was a joint collaboration between General Motors, AeroVironment, and Hughes Aircraft.
The Sasol Solar Challenge is a South African endurance challenge for solar-powered vehicles, with classes for hybrid vehicles, electric vehicles, and biofuel-powered vehicles as well. Recognised by the International Solarcar Federation, the first challenge was run in 2008, and every two years thereafter. The event covers roughly 2,500 km, but has set loops for teams to repeat, with the potential to do 5,000 km. The current record, held by Dutch team Nuon, is 4,716 km, set in 2016 in their car Nuna. The challenge route may change from year to year, and it is planned to run from Pretoria to Stellenbosch in 2018.
The Nuna 4 is a solar car developed by the Delft University of Technology in 2006-2007 for the 2007 World Solar Challenge.
Solar car racing refers to competitive races of electric vehicles which are powered by solar energy obtained from solar panels on the surface of the car. The first solar car race was the Tour de Sol in 1985 which led to several similar races in Europe, US and Australia. Such challenges are often entered by universities to develop their students' engineering and technological skills, but many business corporations have entered competitions in the past. A small number of high school teams participate in solar car races designed exclusively for high school students.
The Midnight Sun Solar Rayce Car Team is a Canadian solar car race team affiliated with the University of Waterloo of Waterloo, Ontario. Founded in 1988, the Midnight Sun team is a student-run organization which designs and builds a solar vehicle every two to three years to compete in two solar challenges; the World Solar Challenge, held in Australia, and the American Solar Challenge, held in the United States.
Nuna 1 was a car powered by solar power, developed by students from the Delft University of Technology.
The Nuna 5 is the 2009 model of the Nuna series solar-powered racing car built by the Dutch Nuon Solar Team.
Nuna 2 is the name of a solar powered vehicle that in 2003 won the World solar challenge in Australia for the second time in a row, after the Nuna 1 victory in 2001. The Nuna solar racers are built by students who are part of the Nuon Solar Team at the Delft University of Technology.
The Nuna 6 is the 2011 model solar-powered racing car in the Nuna series built by the Dutch Nuon Solar Team. Nuna 6 has been built by students who are part of the Nuon Solar Team at the Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands. Nuna 6 weighs 145 kg, and is therefore lighter than the previous 5 cars.
Nuna7 is a solar-powered racing car in the Nuna series built by the Dutch Nuon Solar Team. The team finished first with Nuna7 at the World Solar Challenge 2013, a race of 3000 km through the outback of Australia. The Nuon Solar Team consisted of 16 students of Delft University of Technology.
The 2005 World Solar Challenge was one of a biennial series of solar-powered car races, covering about 3,000 km (1,900 mi) through the Australian Outback, from Darwin, Northern Territory to Adelaide, South Australia.
The 2003 World Solar Challenge was one of a biennial series of solar-powered car races, covering about 3,000 km (1,900 mi) through the Australian Outback, from Darwin, Northern Territory to Adelaide, South Australia.
Stella and its successors Stella Lux, Stella Vie and Stella Era are a series of solar racing family cars, built for the World Solar Challenge in Australia, sofar winning its Cruiser Class all four times it was held – in 2013, 2015, 2017 and in 2019. Stella is considered the world’s first solar-powered family car and was given the 'Best Technology Development' Award at the 8th annual Crunchies in San Francisco in 2015. Being the only competing vehicle with a license plate, the road registration of Stella contributed to the winning score in the races. The vehicles are designed and built by "Solar Team Eindhoven" (STE) — some 26 students of different faculties of the Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e) in the Netherlands. The group have set up a non-profit foundation to promote their concepts for practical solar vehicles for adoption on a broader scale.
Sonnenwagen Aachen is a current project by students from RWTH Aachen University and FH Aachen for the development and construction of a solar car, to participate in the World Solar Challenge in Australia. The solar car race with a length of 3022 km from Darwin in Northern Territory to Adelaide in South Australia is known to be the longest solar car race in the world and has celebrated its 30th anniversary in October 2017.
Top Dutch Solar Racing (TDSR) is a student solar racing team from Groningen, the Netherlands. It was founded in February 2017 and participated in the challenger class of the Bridgestone World Solar Challenge (BWSC) for the first time in 2019. In contrast to the cruiser class, cars competing in the challenger class are designed to reach the finishing line of the BWSC as fast and efficiently as possible. Due to the cancelation of the 2021 edition of the BWSC, Top Dutch Solar Racing plans on participating again in the 2023 edition.