World Solar Challenge Beginning

Stuart Bowden writes: "Today (Sunday at 8:00am Central Australian time) is the start of the 2001 World solar Challenge, a sort of alternative Cannonball Run in which the solar cars cost up to $10 million. Over the next five days or so thirty three solar powered cars will race 3000km across the Australia desert powered only by sunlight. The official site is at WSC and there is extra gossip, pictures and information at our site at the University of NSW. We'll be doing the web upgrades on the road by begging connections at roadside diners and the occasional satellite phone. The big problem is keeping up with solar cars that don't stop for fuel." Our previous story had more links.

Comments

The paradox of solar-powered cars

[vlad_petric]

In order to be acceptable from a consumer's point of view, such a car would have to have batteries ... Even in a desert you still wouldn't want to be limited to day-only driving.

Batteries on the other hand are very heavy. They account for more than 50% of the weight of a regular electric car. The energy required to move the batteries makes such a solar-powered car infeasible.

As mentioned in another post, most of the teams only improved on aerodynamics & weight. So, I'm asking: what's the point of this competition ?

The Raven.