Stanford solar car project

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2005 Stanford Solar Car Project members with their car, Solstice

The Stanford Solar Car Project is a student group at Stanford University which builds, tests, and races solar powered vehicles. A student-run, donation-funded organization, SSCP has been building and racing solar-powered vehicles since 1986. The team's most recent vehicle, Solstice, placed first in the stock class of the 2005 North American Solar Challenge, a 2,500 mile race from Austin, Texas (USA) to Calgary, Alberta (Canada). [1]

The Stanford Solar Car Project has historically prided itself on being a completely student-run project. There is no faculty involvement at a managerial or technical level; faculty involvement is limited to advocacy and fundraising.

The project is open to Stanford students in all fields of study and seeks to educate groups on and off campus about applied engineering and renewable energy. Official meetings occur on Monday nights and Saturday afternoons at the on-campus "Solar Car Site," a building shared with the Stanford DARPA Grand Challenge team. However, work on the car continues at all times during the week, especially in the weeks and months leading up to a race.

The group is now in the process of designing and building its eighth vehicle, Equinox, for competition in the 2007 World Solar Challenge. Equinox will be based on the design of Solstice, the 2005 car, with a number of design improvements and updates gleaned from experiences in building and racing Solstice.