The University of Michigan Solar Car team is celebrating after having won the 2016 American Solar Challenge for the sixth consecutive time.
It was also the ninth time they had won the event during the team’s 26-year history.
The car used for the race, Aurum, was actually developed for the World Solar Challenge in Australia and as such, incurred a cumulative 48-minute penalty due to its design.
23 teams competed in the eight-day 3,178 kilometre race. Conditions on the final day were far from ideal, with heavy cloud and rain.
“We were worried about physically getting to the finish,” said Shihaab Punia, team leader and junior in computer engineering. “Out of all the teams, we were the only ones that went (the) entire race on solar power alone.”
While finishing 3rd in the final stage, a cumulative lead of nearly 10 hours secured the overall win..
Aurum* is the team’s 13th solar electric vehicle and boasts a sleek aerobody designed to allow the driver to be in a much more horizontal position than previous vehicles designed by the team. Power losses from the electrical system have been minimized and mechanical systems optimized for weight reduction and an increase in overall robustness.
The American Solar Challenge originated in 1990 with Sunrayce USA and is held every other year during the US summer. The event is open to solar car teams from countries all over the world.
This year’s event ran through 7 states; from Brecksville in Ohio to Wind Cave National Park Visitor’s Center in Hot Springs, South Dakota.
In addition to its American Solar Challenge dominance, the University of Michigan Solar Car Team has achieved five third-place finishes in the World Solar Challenge and place fourth in 2015
On that topic, solar car teams around the world are now gearing up for the next World Solar Challenge in Australia, which will occur October 8-15, 2017. Regulations for the race were announced in late June.
The race starts in Darwin and finishes in Adelaide – a distance of approximately 3,000 kilometres.
*Aurum is the Latin word for gold
