Nuna5 Race Car Solar Powered Vehicle

Nuna5 Race Car Solar Powered Vehicle

Aiming to have their fifth trophy in the World Solar Challenge, students from Delft University just recently unveiled their sleek and futuristic solar-powered racing vehicle, the Nuna5. To design and build a car capable of crossing Australia on the silent power of nature comprehends the most innovative research and development trends in alternative transport technologies. The World Solar Challenge is one the most prestigious events of its kind and attracts the worlds best Technical Universities and Colleges. One of the most exciting outcomes of the Solar Challenge is to know that the technologies being used are most likely to find their way into the production cars of tomorrow.

Nuna1 and  Nuna2

The Nuna 5 is the newest in the Nuna series solar-powered racing car built by the Dutch Nuon Solar Team. In October 2009, Nuna 5 ran second, in a field of twenty-five, in the World Solar Challenge in Australia. It completed the 3021 km (1,877 mile) race in 32 hours 38 minutes, having an average speed of 91.9 km/h (57.1 miles/h).

Nuna3 and  Nuna4 

For starters, the high-tech, low-rolling-resistance tires used in years past are out, and regular street tires are in thanks to a rules change. This means more drag, which means lower overall efficiency, which means the teams have to work harder to maximize range. Still, the team says Nuna 5 offers 10 times less rolling resistance than your typical family car.

Nuna5 Race Car Solar Powered Vehicle

The Nuna5 Race Car Solar Powered Vehicle is not quite 16 feet long and just under 3 feet tall. Like it’s predecessor, Nuna 4, it is covered in 6 square meters — about 65 square feet — of gallium-arsenide photovoltaic cells. There are 2,120 of them in all. Naturally there is a lithium-polymer battery — though the team didn’t disclose how big it is — to store energy collected by the PV cells. It also has the nifty performance advantage of supplying an extra bit of current for boosts in speed when needed, sort like the “push to pass” kinetic energy recovery systems Formula 1 has been experimenting with. The power flows to a hub-mounted motor that the team says is 97 percent efficient, and the car is brought to a halt with carbon-ceramic disc brakes and regenerative braking.

Nuna5 Race Car Solar Powered Vehicle

Delft University recently unveiled a sleek solar-powered vehicle that they hope will score them their fifth trophy in the World Solar Challenge race. Dubbed the Nuna5, the vehicle is entirely propelled by the sun’s rays, and is designed to cross one of the most difficult terrains on the planet, the Australian outback.

Nuna5 Race Car Solar Powered Vehicle

Delft University has a lot to prove, and they look ready for the challenge. Like its predecesor the Nuna4, the vehicle is covered in 6 square meters of solar panels and comes equipped with a battery used for storing excess electricity (which can be used to give a little bit of extra juice for a tad more speed). The car’s weight has been reduced by 30 kilos compared against the previous model, for a total of 160 kilos.

Nuna5 Race Car Solar Powered Vehicle

Delft won the Solar Challenge last time around, covering the distance in 33 hours flat at an average speed of 56.46 mph. It’s a pretty car the Nuna5 Race Car Solar Powered Vehicle , no two ways about that. It looks like a pool table that’s been through the Pininfarina wind tunnel, but the real beauty is more than skin deep. The tech is, as one would expect, as gorgeous to the mind as the shape is to the eye.