Solar car revs up for competition ANN ARBOR—On Wednesday (April 11) the University of Michigan Solar Car Team will unveil its all new design for a solar-powered vehicle. Designed to compete in three different competitions this year, the car represents one of the largest, most complex and technically ambitious student projects at the University. The unveiling ceremony will take place outside the Lurie Engineering Center on North Campus, beginning at 3:30 p.m.  [North Campus map, Lurie Engineering Center right lower center] 

Called M-Pulse, the car is part of a worldwide challenge to highlight alternative energy sources and build vehicles that run solely on solar energy. As the U-M’s sixth generation vehicle, M-Pulse draws on a legacy of work completed by students since the University’s first effort in 1989. That car, U-M’s Sunrunner, won the GM-sponsored Sunrayce Competition in 1990 and went on to take third place overall in the 1990 World Solar Car Challenge in Australia against many other corporate and university teams.

This year’s vehicle represents two years of intensive work by a multidiscipline team of students from across the University, including major contributions by students from the College of Engineering, Business School and School of Art and Design. The project also receives support and technical assistance from over 100 companies, including Ford Motor Company, Honeywell and Lockheed Martin. Driven by the two-year competition cycle, the team has basically redesigned its 1999 car from scratch. M-Pulse should outperform U-M’s 1999 car with an estimated top speed of 80 miles per hour and accelerate from zero to 60 miles per hour in 12 seconds with zero emissions.

Throughout the year, the team designs, manufactures and tests this technically sophisticated vehicle, as well as manages all aspects of the team’s fund-raising, logistics and business functions. Approximately 150 students work on the car’s development, averaging a combined 200 hours per week on the vehicle during the school year and 1,500 hours during vacation periods.

The team’s first race will be the closed-course Formula Sun Grand Prix competition in

U-M SOLAR CAR BRIEFING Wednesday, Outside Lurie Engineering Center (North Campus) University of Michigan

Why you should attend?

•First photo opportunity of the 2001 car, First unveiling ceremony/competition cycle in two years.

•Renewed interest in alternative energy sources.

•Increased public attention on environmentalism and hybrid cars.

•Incorporation of many leading-edge technologies – lightweight materials, electronics, controls, cell configuration, chassis systems, body structures and aerodynamics

•Dynamic student project involving many disciplines, from engineering and meteorology to design and business.

•Adventure-student team races across two continents in a car powered by less energy than it takes to run a hairdryer.

About the Races… Formula Sun Grand Prix Challenge (May 9-11) Topeka, KS Closed-course qualifier for the American Solar Car Challenge.

American Solar Car Challenge ( 2200-mile race from Chicago, IL to Los Angeles, CA challenging teams to cross a variety of terrains including the Great Plains, Rocky Mountains and deserts.

World Solar Challenge (Nov. 18-22, 2001) 1800 mile race across the Australian continent from Darwin to Adelaide.

Available for Interviews:

FACULTY ADVISORS Brian Gilchrist Associate Professor of Electrical Engineering and Space Sciences
Ken Kohrs Industry Co-Director, Tauber Manufacturing Institute Retired Vice President, Ford Motor Company
STUDENT TEAM MEMBERS