Western Sunstang is at it again, playing with solar panels and designing aero bodies, because in less than a year, we’ll be racing in Australia! Since the school term has started, we’ve made significant headway on finalizing the design of the 2013 car. You can see some SolidWorks renderings on this very website. Personally, I’m impressed, and none of us can wait to see it on the road!

We’ve also been getting in touch with the community through events on campus. We reminisced with alumni at Homecoming, inspired young minds at GO ENG Girl, and at Fall Preview Day we showed potential first years that they’ve made the right choice with engineering at Western.

Come spring, the solar car will be fully built and ready for test driving. We plan to race in the 2013 World Solar Challenge, a 3000 km race spanning between Darwin and Adelaide, the northern and southern tips of the continent. Sunstang will be competing against not only other universities, but also energy companies such as the Swedish-based Nuon, and automotive companies such as the Aurora Vehicle Association, whose very purpose is building solar cars.

The team is excited to bring glory back to Sunstang’s name, working diligently in the shop, in the labs, and in the office to get our car on the road. We’ll be posting updates on this blog as progress continues, so keep checking back, and embark on this journey to Australia with us!

It’s a new dawn for Sunstang, and we’re ready to drive ‘til sunset.

-Ayeda