Meet the “Nuna 5” – the fifth generation of solar racing car built by a team from Delft university to enter the World Solar Challenge.

What is the challenge you ask? It’s a 3000km race across Australia (from Darwin to Adelaide) using a car powered entirely by sunlight.  Cars must maintain a minimum average speed of 50 KM/H between checkpoints, run standard road tyres and have no more than 6 square meters of solar panels. The rules don’t say much about the drivers apart from specifying a minimum weight, but looking at that car I doubt I’d fit…

There’s some technology in the cars too – the Nuna 5 weighs less than 160KG and uses Gallium-Arsenide solar panels rated at 34% efficiency (that’s pretty bleeding edge, the panels you buy to put on your roof are nearer 25%)

The Dutch team have a title to defend, having won the previous 4 races against competition from Honda, GM and other big names. We’ll see how they do when the race commences in October.

[via Wired]