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Hot Wheels

September/October 2013

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Hot Wheels

Photo: Nathan Golshan/The Stanford Solar Car Project

On July 12 the Stanford Solar Car Project unveiled Luminos, the 11th solar-powered vehicle built by students under the auspices of the project since its founding in 1989. Luminos’s sleek, aerodynamic body and custom-built front wheel drive motors—which exceed industry standard efficiency (97 vs 93 percent)—allow the 375-pound car to reach speeds up to 50 miles per hour. The car will compete in the 2,000-mile World Solar Challenge race across the Australian outback in October.

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