It's fast, it's sleek and it's solar – the Jaycar Sunswift III raced across the country setting a new record for the longest trip between Perth and Sydney in a sunlight-powered vehicle.
A team of 11 students from the University of NSW arrived in Sydney on Monday (January 15) shattering Dick Smith's 13-year old record by three days. It took just five and a half days to cover the 3000km journey.
"People don't think that solar power is viable, but to think it can power a car across Australia, like a conventional car, surprises people," said Ryan McCarthy, the Sunswift team spokesperson in a phone interview.
Indeed, the flat spacecraft-looking car, which fits just two people and provides a power output of less than a domestic heater, can reach speeds up to 140kph, thus ensuring travel distances as much as 800km per day.
This, says Mr McCarthy, can even be sufficient for day-to-day city driving where your average Australian covers no more than 31km a day. That is, of course, if one can survive without air conditioning and operate the car while lying almost flat on one's back.
Sunswift III is also very light, weighing a mere 220kg – roughly seven times lighter than a Toyota Camry.
But the challenge of rain still remains. The Sunswift team battled overcast weather for the first two days of their trip, which cut the power output by 80 per cent.
"This has made the record even more impressive," admitted Mr McCarthy.
When asked what the greatest challenge of the trip was, he jokingly replied:
"The most stressful part was driving through Sydney and trying to avoid all the other traffic on the M5 and the Eastern Distributor."
And although it may be a long time before fully operational solar cars hit the roads, sunlight-derived power has a lot of potential to be integrated into a conventional vehicle, says Mr McCarthy.
The solar panels convert sunlight energy directly into electricity. Adding a solar component to a conventional car can reduce the use of petrol and power secondary functions like electronics and ventilation.
For more information about the Jaycar Sunswift III see www.sunswift.com .
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