Current Team Status

The Sol of Auburn is currently in the design and construction phase of its 6th solar car. We plan to enter it into the 2008 North American Solar Challenge. The team has a sit-down meeting every Monday at 5:00 in the Mechanical Engineering Conference Room in Ross Hall. New Members are welcome. No experience is necessary and any major can join. Many of us joined the team knowing nothing about cars.

2003 Sol of Auburn on Display

The 2003 Sol of Auburn was donated to the Barber Sports Museum in Birmingham, AL. Be sure to look for it when you visit!

Donation by AirGas

Recently AirGas donated a MIG welder for use on the current project.

2005 Sol of Auburn Video

The Sol of Auburn - Auburn University's Solar Car Team - participated in the North American Solar Challenge 2005. Be sure to check out the 2005 video, the official race diary and photographs from the race.

North American Solar Challenge 2005 Information

• Race Diary and Photographs: Updated every day with stories and photographs from the event!
  • Last Updated: 4:45pm August 5, 2005
• Team Phone Numbers : Wirelessly connected via Sprint PCS
• North American Solar Challenge Official Website: The organizers of the competition
• GPS Tracker: See our current location along the route!

Auburn Fans and Friends of the Solar Car:

If you would like to receive daily "SOL of Auburn" email updates for the North American Solar Challenge, please contact us. We will utilize this email list only during the 2005 events (May 14-21 and July 8-30). Our team will be connected to the Internet during our travels, thanks to generosity from Sprint PCS.

About the Sol of Auburn

The SOL of Auburn is the only solar car in Alabama, USA. The project is organized by Auburn University's College of Engineering with a team of four faculty and over twenty undergraduate students.

The purpose of the project is to compete in a biennial race called the American Solar Challenge. In this event, many universities compete to win a 2,500 mile cross-country race. The team with the shortest time over the given distance wins the race. We attended the 2003 American Solar Challenge in July and attend all NASC events in 2005.

We welcome new members and encourage everyone to join us at our next meeting (see Team Information). In addition, you can become a sponsor within a matter of minutes!

2005 Formula Sun Grand Prix (NASC May Qualifier) Update:

Race Diary and Photographs

We officially finished second place in the stock class and third place overall. The final results can be found here: http://www.formulasun.org/fsgp/event/fsgp2005/history/index.html

And the overall top five are summarized below:

University of Minnesota: 410 laps (861 miles) Iowa State University: 374 laps (785 miles) Auburn University: 279 laps (586 miles) CalSol (Berkeley): 175 laps (368 miles) Northwestern University: 129 laps (271 miles)

32 teams intend to race in this year's American Solar Challenge. 18 teams intended to race in last week's May Qualifier. 10 teams actually passed all inspections are were allowed to race last week. Auburn placed 2nd in our class, 3rd overall, and was awarded the "safety award."

Team News:

(9 July 2005) We left Auburn for Austin TX, where the North American Solar Challenge 2005 will begin. Stay tuned for daily updates from the road!

(14 May 2005) We left Auburn for the May Qualifier in Topeka, Kansas. Check our May 2005 Qualifier web page regularly for photographs and daily updates.

(23 Mar 2005) First brake test in C-zone was successful; car drove and handled exceptionally well; concerns and issues with steering will be addressed in the near future. Pictures will be released in May.

(7 Mar 2005) Framework is complete; upper body has been painted; all mechanical systems will be in place by mid-March; the electrical system is riding in the wake of the mechanical systems.

2003 Race Information:

+ American Solar Challenge (July 2003)

+ American Solar Challenge Qualifier (May 2003)