The UNSW Sunswift Solar Racing Team is once again ready to do battle in the World Solar Challenge, a gruelling race from Darwin to Adelaide. They'll be relying the power of the sun - and some very clever thinking.
The UNSW Sunswift Solar Racing Team is once again ready to do battle in the World Solar Challenge, a gruelling, 3,000km race from Darwin to Adelaide.
After nearly two years of preparation, the 12-strong UNSW team and their car, Jaycar Sunswift III, will be among 40 teams from around the world which set off from the Northern Territory capital on Sunday, October 21.
This year has already been a landmark one for the Sunswift team after the car broke the world record for the fastest crossing from Perth to Sydney in January.
Now, after extensive refitting and re-engineering which cut 15kg from the space-age racer and reduced its weight to around 205kg, the team is hoping for another powerhouse performance.
"It's pretty quick," says Andrew Wrigley, one of the team's four drivers.
"We've taken this one up to 130km/h and we can average 90km per hour over the course of a day."
The team expects to complete the run to Adelaide in four to five days, averaging between 600km and 700km a day powered by the sun and some brilliant engineering know-how.
Watch the video.