The car, which was designed and built by engineering students from the University of New South Wales (UNSW), departed Sydney, Australia, on Sept. 20 and will travel about 2,700 miles (4,300 kilometers) to Darwin, on the continent's northern coast. This scenic route allows the team to test the car, and serves as a regional outreach tour, introducing their fellow highway drivers to the car's futuristic design.
Then, on Oct. 8, Violet will take part in the 30th Bridgestone World Solar Challenge, competing against 47 teams representing 21 nations.
The race will take them from Darwin in the Northern Territories to Adelaide in South Australia, covering 1,877 miles (3,021 km). Though the event is scheduled to last from Oct. 8 to Oct. 15, the winner is expected to cross the finish line in Adelaide's Victoria Square in the early hours of Oct. 12, officials with the World Solar Challenge announced in a statement.
Violet is the sixth iteration of a solar-powered race car produced by UNSW's Sunswift team, which formed in 1995 to compete in the World Solar Challenge. Described by UNSW representatives as "a four-seater sedan" and larger than previous generations of Sunswift's solar race cars, Violet was deliberately crafted to resemble commercially produced vehicles, in order to showcase solar technology as a potential energy source for practical, daily use in transportation, Sunswift representatives explained on the group's website.
With a shell made of carbon fiber, the car weighs about 880 lbs. (400 kilograms) and it uses about 7 kilowatts of horsepower at 68 mph (110 km/h) — "as much power as a four-slice toaster," Sunswift team leader Simba Kuestler said in a statement
Source: www.livescience.com
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