The University of Michigan’s Solar Car Team unveiled their first three-wheeled bullet-style car that will race in Australia this October on Friday.
University of Michigan is the only university from the U.S. competing in the Bridgestone World Solar Challenge this year. Other teams participating are from Australia, Canada, East Asia, Europe, the Middle East and South America.
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The challenge is a one-week-long, 1,800-mile race from Darwin on the country’s north coast to Adelaide on the country’s southern coast. The vehicles are allowed five kilowatt-hours of stored energy, in comparison, a Tesla Model 3 has a battery capacity of 57.7 kWh of usable energy. All other energy must come from the sun or be recovered using the vehicle’s kinetic energy.
“For many of us, this competition is what we live for, and it is super exciting to have the opportunity to race against the best teams in the world and represent the University of Michigan and the United States,” team race manager and mechanical engineering senior Will Jones said. “Our team has had a hard reset with the four-year break in competition, and we are eager to show the world what the University of Michigan is capable of.”
The team refined nearly aspect of the car since their last Solar Challenge appearance in 2019. The car has a 25% higher capacity battery, a new battery management system, and one less wheel to take advantage of the race’s new regulations.
“The race is a fantastic opportunity for students to get excited about advancing sustainable technology,” Jones said. “It’s one thing to learn in a class about clean energy solutions, but the genius of the Bridgestone World Solar Challenge is that it combines learning with an incredible adventure. In striving to design and build the most competitive solar car, students from all around the world are able to come together with the single goal of making the world a better place.”
Three-wheeled designs are typically more efficient than four-wheeled designs, but offer less stability. To stabilize the car, the team put the driver’s seat almost directly over the car’s front-two wheels so that the car’s center of gravity is at its widest point.
The University of Michigan has had seven Bridgestone-World-Challenge podium finishes, and won its first international championship at the Abu Dhabi Solar Challenge in 2015. This year’s race begins Oct. 22.