Australia's World Solar Challenge Begins

Since 1987, the World Solar Challenge has been held in Australia every two years. The race is between solar-powered vehicles from around the world. The newest edition of this race began this Saturday. In addition to the usual race, there will be a race between vehicles considered eco-friendly that are available for retail sale.

The race will begin in Darwin, Australia and end in Adelaide, Australia. In total it is expected to last about a week. The terrain will vary from desert to plains to the tropical rainforests of Australia. All in all, the participants will be traveling 1,900 miles.

This year there are 38 vehicles participating in the solar-powered side of the race. The entrants are from 17 different countries, which include: Australia, the United States, the Netherlands, Japan, Singapore, Britain, Belgium, Turkey, France, Germany, Iran, Taiwan, Greece, Canada, India, Malaysia, and Switzerland.

The Australian team is a front-runner of the race, as their vehicle is able to go speeds upwards of 70 miles per hour by just using 1,300 watts of energy. Other front-runners include Britain, the United States, the Netherlands and Japan. Most of the vehicles which have been entered were built by engineering students.

The newest edition to the race, the eco-friendly vehicles, will be participating in the Eco Challenge. These vehicles were submitted by different car manufacturers rather than engineering students. In total, 17 vehicles are participating from 10 different manufacturers.

All vehicles participating in the Eco Challenge are either already on the market or will be available for purchase soon. Their race will be determining the most fuel-efficient of the bunch. The entries are from the following manufacturers: Tesla Motors, Ford, Honda, Hyundai, BMW, Kia, Skoda, Holden, Suzuki and HSV.