Dossier Nuna 4
On 26 October 2007 and for the fourth year in a row, the Nuon Solar Team was again crowned the winner of the World Solar Challenge. The twelve TU Delft students completed the 3000 km through the Australian outback in 33 hours and 17 minutes in their self-built Nuna4.
Photogapher: Hans-Peter van Velthoven
After a difficult start, Nuna4 led the race for its final two days. The car, which was classed third in its category, was one of the last to start due to technical problems. Yet on the first day Nuna4 succeeded in overtaking dozens of other solar cars. On the second day, the team managed to overtake the Belgian leader Umicore and take the lead themselves. In spite of suffering four flat tyres, which were changed in a record 2 minutes and 45 seconds, Nuna4 covered a whopping 752 kilometres on the third day. During the fourth and final day of the race, Nuna4 was able to drive at the maximum-permitted speed of 130 km an hour and thus be the first across the finishing line.
Over the race as a whole, Nuna4 drove at an average speed of 90.07 km an hour. The fastest recorded speed was 142 km an hour during overtaking. Nuna3, which won the World Solar Challenge in 2005, achieved an average speed of 103 km/hour, thanks to the number of solar cells on a 9 m2 area. This time, the solar cars had to be more like real cars, which meant a maximum of 6 m2 of solar cells was permitted and the drivers had to sit in a more upright position.
More information
- Characteristics of Nuna4 and infographics
- For more information check the students’ blog.
Check the photoreport by Hans Pieter van Velthoven at Panasonic World Solar Challenge.
