Compared to some competitors, Stanford’s two entries in the American Solar Car Challenge were a glowing success. Before the race even started, one team’s car exploded into flames. Another’s vehicle collapsed after its suspension snapped.
The 2,300-mile solar car challenge—sponsored biennially by the U.S. Department of Energy—attracted 30 entrants from four countries. Driving cars powered by batteries that draw energy from solar cells, the teams race from Chicago to Los Angeles along the famed Route 66. Stanford was the only school to compete in both the stock and open (in which spending is unlimited) classes, placing second and 16th, respectively. “About what we expected,” says Stanford team leader Joel Segre, ’02, a biomechanical engineering major.
The Third Degree Burner, the stock-class car that resembles something out of the Bat Cave, completed the course in 10 days and 91 driving hours. The open-class entry, the three-wheeled Back Burner, was on the road 100 hours. Average speed: 23 mph.
The two teams employed 20 students as drivers, navigators, planners and maintenance crew. One lead car and one chase car accompanied each race vehicle, and there was a support truck to boot. The lead car navigated the route and warned of obstacles; students in the chase car used computer models and satellite links to track weather, elevation changes and the car’s performance. The support truck broke down in Texas.
“Not only were we the youngest team in the race, but our cars were constructed cheaply,” says Segre. The winning team in the open-class race, University of Michigan, had a solar array rumored to cost $750,000, he says. “The array for the Third Degree Burner cost less than $6,000.”
Sounds like a shining example of efficiency.
