The 1993 World Solar Challenge was the third international solar-powered car race held over 3,000km from Darwin, Northern Territory to Adelaide, South Australia.
It was held from November 7, 1993 with the 'Dream' car from Honda Research and Development winning the event from 1990 winners Biel. Reports suggested Honda's vehicle cost AU$10 million, with Biel spending $3 million, with the total value of entrants estimated at $25 million.
Fifty-one entrants from 13 countries entered the race, which was completed at a record speed of 84.96 km/h, attributed to improvements in aerodynamics, motor efficiency and photovoltaic cells.
It was also supported by several mainstream automotive manufacturers, including Honda, Nissan, Toyota and Kia. Stuttgart University also operated a "semi-trailer sized" solar powered airship called Lotte to Adelaide as part of the event.
Event sponsor Japanese industrial gas producer Daido Hoxan was the naming sponsor of the event.
Route The World Solar Challenge runs across approximately 3,000km from Darwin, the capital of the Northern Territory, to Adelaide, the capital of South Australia.
Results Source:140.112.14.7/~ifplab/solar/team.htm#1993
Position TeamCar Country Time (h:m) Speed (km/h) 1HondaDreamJapan35:2884.96 2Eng. Col. BielSpirit of Biel III Switzerland38:3078.27 3KyoceraSon of SunJapan42:3570.76 4Waseda UniversitySky Blue WasedaJapan42:5070.35 5AuroraAurora Q1Australia43:0070.08 6ToyotaToyota56Japan46:3464.71 7Northern Territory UniversityDesert RoseAustralia46:5064.34 8Cal Poly PomonaIntrepidUnited States47:2163.64 9George Washington UniversitySunForce IUnited States47:4663.08 10Zero 2 DarwinBe-Pal IIIAustralia48:3861.96 11University of MichiganMaize & BlueUnited States49.0761.35 12Nissan Motor CompanySun FavorJapan50:2159.85 13Cal State LASolar Eagle IIUnited States50:3759.53 14Stanford UniversityAfterburnerUnited States51:3858.36 15Philips Solar KiwiSolar KiwiNew Zealand60:3649.72 16Mabuchi MotorLet's SunjoyJapan60:5749.44 17SofixSofixJapan64:5646.41 18Tokai UniversityTokai-51SRJapan74:2240.52 19Monash University / Melbourne UniversitySolutionAustralia74:5040.27 20Laughing SunEvolution93/BJapan75:4839.75 21Mino FamilyMino Solar IIIJapan76:2139.47 22University of OklahomaSpirit of OklahomaUnited States79:3737.85 23Sonderborg TekikumSolgon DanmarkDenmark79:4337.80 24Ashiya UniversitySky-AceJapan79:4837.76 25Dripstone High SchoolAquilaAustralia81:1737.76 26Panda-sanHosokawa-GoJapan84:1535.77 27Solar FlairSolar FlairUK84:5735.47 28KIA MotorsConSole to the FutureSouth Korea85:2735.26 29Team AlarusAlarusAustralia86:4234.76 30Annesley CollegeEOSAustralia87:3534.48 31Hokuriku ElectricHokuden PhoenixJapan89:4733.56
Retirements Position TeamCar Country Time (h:m) Speed (km/h)32Hokkaido Auto Sulis IVJapan87:3032.0833Team Doraemon Solaemon-GoJapan79:5034.7734Solar Japan Mainichi-GoJapan80:1031.7335Mitcham Girls High School ISISAustralia80:1027.3936Morphett Vale High School Photon FlyerAustralia67:1331.3337University of Puerto Rico Discovery 500United States62:3630.0838Team New England TNE-IIUnited States53:0228.1339Le Soleil Le SoleilJapan56:3426.3840University of Western Ontario SunStangCanada63:5123.3741Team TR50 TR50UK71:2020.9242San Diego State University, Suntrakker SDSU SuntrakkerUnited States52:1020.5543Northern Territory Institute of T.A.F.E. TraderAustralia37.3426.2244Meadowbank T.A.F.E. SunseekerAustralia26:1724.0545Villanova University Solarcat IIIUnited States20:5015.0746JCJS Solar Car Phi Ohn Sigma IIJapan21:5514.3347Banana Enterprise Banana EnterpriseBrazil16:4015.1248Hama Yumeka Japan15:2515.0349Team Heliox Switzerland08:2324.6950Team Moscow Russia03:359.77
Awards This edition of the event divided entrants into different competition classes based on their photovoltaic cell and battery material, institutional type and vehicle design. Awards were given to the top three place getters in each.
Silicon PV/Silver Zinc battery Position TeamCar Country 1HondaDreamJapan 2Eng. Col. BielSpirit of Biel III Switzerland 3KyoceraSon of SunJapan
Silicon PV/Lead-Acid battery Position TeamCar Country 1Team SofixSofixJapan 2Team SolarSolar Flair UK 3KIAConSole to the FutureSouth Korea
Schools/Private class Position TeamCar Country 1Team PhilipsSolar KiwiNew Zealand 2Monash University / Melbourne UniversitySolution Australia 3Sonderborg TeknikumSolvogn DanmarkDenmark
Two seater class Position TeamCar Country 1California State Polytechnic University PomonaIntrepidUSA 2Stanford UniversitySunburner USA 3Team AlarusAlarusAustralia References