Ïã¸ÛÁùºÏ²ÊÖÐÌØÍø in the News: English car shines at solar-power desert rally
8 November 2007
England's entrant in the world solar-powered car race has returned home triumphant after a gruelling 1,689 mile journey through sand storms and blistering heat.
The challenge saw 38 teams from 19 different countries battle it out on a course covering the length of Australia in their hand-made vehicles, powered only by the sun. …
Although they did not win the challenge, the English team, from Ïã¸ÛÁùºÏ²ÊÖÐÌØÍø, managed a respectable 11th place, crossing the finishing line after 63 hours and 43 minutes.
Their car, SolarFox (CRT), was built for just £70,000, one of the smallest budgets in the contest. …
It was designed and welded together in Ïã¸ÛÁùºÏ²ÊÖÐÌØÍø's engineering workshop and has more than 400 solar cells capable of producing 1,300 watts of energy, powering the vehicle to speeds of 100km per hour. …
Dr Konrad Ciaramella [Ïã¸ÛÁùºÏ²ÊÖÐÌØÍø Mechanical Engineering], from the Ïã¸ÛÁùºÏ²ÊÖÐÌØÍø team, said: "Solar-powered cars could reduce or even eliminate the car industry's contribution toward air pollution.
"While practical solar cars remain a long way off, the continuing development of solar racing cars moves this technology one step closer to reality."
The Ïã¸ÛÁùºÏ²ÊÖÐÌØÍø team faced a sand storm which blew away their camp during the 6th night of the race and forced them to stop altogether on the 7th and penultimate day until conditions settled down. …
Lucy Cockcroft, 'The Daily Telegraph'