World Solar Challenge
| World Solar Challenge | |
|---|---|
| Venue | Stuart Highway |
| Location | Australia |
| Corporate sponsor | Bridgestone |
| First race | 1987 |
| Distance | 3,022 km (1,878 mi) |
| Duration | 4-7 days |
| Most wins (team) | Nuon (7) (Challenger) Eindhoven (Cruiser) |
The World Solar Challenge (WSC), named the Bridgestone World Solar Challenge since 2013, is an international event for solar powered cars. The course is over 3,022 Kilometers (1,878 miles) through the Australian outback, from Darwin in the Northern Territory to Adelaide in South Australia.The event was created in 1987 to encourage the development of solar-powered vehicles and has been held fifteen times over its 32-year history.
The World Solar Challenge usually held every two years, but the 2021 event was canceled, causing a four-year gap between the 2019 and 2023 events. The event was initially held once every three years, became biennial from the turn of the century.
The WSC attracts teams from universities, corporations, and high schools around the world. Team from Delft University of Technology (Netherlands), known as the Nuna team and cars, have won seven out of ten races since 2001.
Since 2007, the WSC has included multiple vehicle classes. In 2013, a radically new "Cruiser Class" was introduced, promotes the technological development of practical, road-legal, and multi-seater solar vehicles.
Technological progress has been achieved since the General Motors took led. Competing cars from an average speed of 66.9 km/h in 1987 to 88.5 km/h in 1996, then reach 100 km/h by 2005.
The WSC held its 30th anniversary event on 8–15 October 2017.