For this year’s World Solar Challenge race, the University of NSW’s Sunswift team are keen to finish off some unfinished business.
The 3000km Darwin-Adelaide race runs from August 24-31 this year and already features a first: it is being run during winter with 20% less sunlight, organisers say.
In 2023, the Sunswift 7 solar-powered car dominated its class (cruiser) and outpaced its global rivals only to be scuppered by wind.
Click here for the 2025 official program
Strong winds drained the batteries of all competing cars to the point that none could finish the fourth day of the race; Sunswift was judged winner due to their clear lead in the race’s overall points system.
This year, the team want an undisputed triumph.
“In 2023, we were the fastest car in the pre-race time trial, we were ahead on the road, we were ahead on points and we travelled further than any other team,” says Sunswift team principal professor Richard Hopkins.
“Along with everyone else, we didn’t finish the event so there is a bit of unfinished business and hopefully there will be redemption this year.
“In 2025, our sights are set firmly on reaching that finish line under our own steam, the way this challenge is meant to be won,” he says.
“Last time, we proved we’re the best in the world by the numbers. But for this group of undergraduate students, nothing will feel as sweet as driving Sunswift 7 right into Adelaide’s heart as winners again.”
Any sense of complacency in their title quest will have been dispelled by regular changes to the rulebook which are designed to promote technological progress, the university points out.
There are new problems to solve and new tactics to develop, they say.
“Even though the car might look very similar to two years ago, we haven’t just been sitting around polishing it and waiting for the 2025 race,” Prof. Hopkins says.
“We’ve gone from being a four-seater to a two-seater so the vehicle is about 250kg lighter than in 2023.
“Dynamically, that makes the car very different. The rules about charging have also been amended due to what happened last time which throws any existing strategies up in the air,” he says.
“In truth, everything’s been rewritten. We’ve had to reinvent our approach; it’s really a new team, new regulations and a new strategy approach.”
Sunswift 7 is the latest car from UNSW, whose solar car racing program began in 1996. In 2022 it claimed a Guinness World Record by averaging nearly 85kmh in under 12 hours as it completed 1000km on a single charge.
Stripped of non-essentials, the car this year will weigh 500kg with a very low drag coefficient of 0.095, UNSW says.
But already, the next-generation is in the works: Sunswift 8 has been designed with a potential unveiling date for mid-2026.
The new car is expected to feature ‘tri-brid’ technology – a combination of solar panels, battery storage and hydrogen fuel cells.
“The current Sunswift team have been dealing with a unique challenge of preparing Sunswift 7 while also creating a completely new design for Sunswift 8,” Prof Hopkins says.
“Because we are purely an undergraduate team, we have many new members since 2023. It’s a whole new set of young geniuses that are embarking on this.
“Sunswift 8 won’t just be the world’s first tri-brid – it will be the world’s first road-legal tri-brid so it will be a really big deal.”
SOLAR RACE DETAILS
The program lists the official start at 7am on Sunday as competitors make their way through Katherine, Dunmarra, Tennant Creek, Barrow Creek, Alice Springs, Erldunda, Coober Pedy, Glendambo, Port Augusta and finish in Adelaide.
The global challengers have come from Canada, US, Hungary, Romania, Saudi Arabia, India, Thailand, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Estonia, Belgium, Sweden and the Netherlands.
