Stella, a four-seater solar‑powered family car developed by Solar Team Eindhoven, Netherlands, is the winner of the Cruiser class of the World Solar Challenge 2013.
Students of Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e) had been leading the race’s Cruiser class right from the start with their car Stella, but they saw German and Australian teams catching up on them in the final stage.
The solar-powered Stella completed the 3,000 km (1864 mile) journey with an average of three people on board. Their average speed during the World Solar Challenge 2013 was 67 km/h (41.6 mph). Top speeds of 120 km/h (74.5 mph) with a full load of four people were no exception.
The Cruiser class was inaugurated in order to encourage the development of commercially viable solar-powered vehicles. Whereas other categories focus on speed alone, the Cruiser class takes into account practicality for everyday use.
The Netherlands is strongly represented in the Race to the Sun: in the Challenger class, Delft were the champions with Nuna7 and Twente took third place.
Nuna7 managed an average speed of 90.71 km/h (56.36 mph) and it took just over 33 hours to complete the 3,000 kilometer trip from Darwin to Adelaide.
More than 40 teams from 24 countries competed in the world’s largest solar electric vehicle event. The race, held every two years, offers categories for different classes of cars.[wzslider height=”400″ lightbox=”true”]
