Montreal, Quebec — Polytechnique Montreal students have won two races in the United States, the Solar Grand Prix and the American Solar Challenge, with their recently built solar-powered vehicle.
The vehicle, which took two-and-a-half years to build, specifically won the Electrek Formula Sun Grand Prix, which took place from July 16 to 18, and the American Solar Challenge, which took place from July 20 to the 27. Both races took place at the National Corvette Museum Motorsports Park in Bowling Green, Kentucky.
The Polytechnique Montreal students’ solar-powered vehicle, Esteban 11, is a two-seater with five square metres of solar panels and a battery capable of lasting up to 700 kilometres.
While the vehicle is not roadworthy, participating students originally told CTV News that they see a bright future for solar-powered vehicles.
“The advantage would be that the sun is always there, you don’t have to pay for it, and it’s always available from wherever you are,” said Polytechnique Montreal student Jalbert-Drouin. “It does feel different than a regular car. For example, there is no power steering, so all the steering needs to be from your arm.”
“As we drive, it charges,” student Marie Rouillard further told CTV News, “If we go to, like, 45 km/hour, 50 km/hour, and we have really good solar energy, we could drive infinitely.”
Producing Esteban 11 was not a school project and the students did not receive credits or compensation for the vehicle.
“We don’t get credits for this at school,” concluded Rouillard. “It’s really just people who want to see the car of the future being built.”
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