Amsterdam's Nuon Solar Team Wins the World Solar Challenge

October 5, 2005

The Nuon Solar Team won the World Solar Challenge on September 28th, smashing its own record by covering the 1877-mile course in only 29 hours and 11 minutes, beating its previous time by more than an hour and a half. That works out to an average speed of 64.3 miles per hour, or 102.75 kilometers per hour, marking the first time that a solar car has gone faster than 100 kilometers per hour along the grueling course. The Nuon team earned their third consecutive win, followed in second place by the Aurora Vehicle Association of Australia. The University of Michigan took third place with a time of 33 hours and 18 minutes, for an average speed of about 56 miles per hour. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology earned sixth place, a respectable finish among the field of 19 cars that completed the race. See the Media and "On the Road" sections of the World Solar Challenge Web site.