Skip to main content

44 teams just completed a solar car race across Australia

The Bridgestone World Solar Challenge started this week in Darwin, Australia on a 1,900-mile race to Adelaide in a collection of 44 solar-powered vehicles. The biennial race crowns the fastest solar-powered cars in the world. Entries came from 20 different countries, and include four from the United States; University of Michigan, Stanford, the University of Minnesota, and University of California – Berkeley.

Run since 1987, this event is possibly even more relevant today than when it first started. With the onset of electric-powered cars, motorcycles, and bikes, the world could be turning a corner on how we power our transportation. With the great strides in power and distance an electric vehicle can now travel, it makes sense to look for the same gains in solar power.

Recommended Videos

Teams arrive days before the event start to take their entries through 14 stringent technical inspections before they can even start the event to determine pole position. The Top Dutch Solar Racing car named Green Lightning led off the event after earning that pole position with the fastest lap around Hidden Valley Raceway.

Now all entries are making their way south through the Northern Territory and South Australia, parts of the country known for difficult conditions that will test the preparation these teams spent years trying to perfect. Any flaws in the design will quickly rear their heads as teams race to be the furthest competitor by the 5:00 p.m. cut-off when teams have to camp in the desert and be self-sufficient until the 8:00 a.m. start time allows them to continue the next day. Each car carries a data logger and tracking to ensure the car starts and ends its day on time. Time penalties will be assessed for each minute early or late a team starts or continues outside of the official times.

Alumni from this race have gone to pioneer innovative projects including Tesla’s Chief Technical Officer, JB Straubel, and Google co-founder Larry Page. Hundreds of alumni from solar car racing have gone on to innovate with Google, Microsoft, Ford, and Cirrus Aircraft just to name a few.

Teams are expected to finish in Adelaide by Thursday, October 17th. Winning speeds are expected to be in the 55-62 miles per hour range.

UPDATE:

Belgium’s KU Leuven University has won a 3,000-km (1,864-mile) race. The Belgian team won on its eighth attempt in just shy of 73 hours averaging 53.8 miles per hour. They were followed by a team from Japan’s Tokai University that arrived a few minutes later, and third place went to the team from the University of Michigan.

Please enable Javascript to view this content

John Elkin
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Worked for many off road and rally and sports car publications throughout the 1980s and 1990s. Decided to go look for a…
You can now lease a Hyundai EV on Amazon—and snag that $7,500 tax credit
amazon autos hyundai evs lease ioniq 6 n line seoul mobility show 2025 mk08

Amazon has changed how we shop for just about everything—from books to furniture to groceries. Now, it’s transforming the way we lease cars. Through Amazon Autos, you can now lease a brand-new Hyundai entirely online—and even better, you’ll qualify for the full $7,500 federal tax credit if you choose an electric model like the Ioniq 5, Ioniq 6, or Kona EV.
Here’s why that matters: As of January 2025, Hyundai’s EVs no longer qualify for the tax credit if you buy them outright, due to strict federal rules about battery sourcing and final assembly. But when you lease, the vehicle is technically owned by the leasing company (Hyundai Capital), which allows it to be classified as a “commercial vehicle” under U.S. tax law—making it eligible for the credit. That savings is typically passed on to you in the form of lower lease payments.
With Amazon’s new setup, you can browse Hyundai’s EV inventory, secure financing, trade in your current vehicle, and schedule a pickup—all without leaving the Amazon ecosystem.
It’s available in 68 markets across the U.S., and pricing is fully transparent—no hidden fees or haggling. While Hyundai is so far the only automaker fully participating, more are expected to join over time.
Pioneered by the likes of Tesla, purchasing or leasing vehicles online has been a growing trend since the Covid pandemic.
A 2024 study by iVendi found that 74% of car buyers expect to use some form of online process for their next purchase. In fact, 75% said online buying met or exceeded expectations, with convenience and access to information cited as top reasons. The 2024 EY Mobility Consumer Index echoed this trend, reporting that 25% of consumers now plan to buy their next vehicle online—up from 18% in 2021. Even among those who still prefer to finalize the purchase at a dealership, 87% use online tools for research beforehand.
Meanwhile, Deloitte’s 2025 Global Automotive Consumer Study reveals that while 86% of U.S. consumers still want to test-drive a vehicle in person, digital tools are now a critical part of the buying journey.
Bottom line? Amazon is making it easier than ever to lease an EV and claim that tax credit—without the dealership hassle. If you're ready to plug in, it might be time to add to cart.

Read more
Gemini AI coming to cars as Android Automotive update suggests it’s due soon
The 6.8-inch Pioneer digital media receiver installed in a vehicle's dashboard.

Google appears to be getting ready to sends its Gemini AI into cars through an Android Automotive update.

This would make sense as Android Automotive already uses Google's Assistant to help with those much-needed in-car hands-free requests.

Read more
Watch from the passenger seat as the new Porsche 911 GT3 sets a record at the Nürburgring
911 GT3 with Weissach Package (Manual Transmission), Nürburgring Nordschleife 2025, Porsche AG

If you've ever wanted to race at top speeds around one of the most iconic racetracks in the world, then now is your chance. A new Porsche 911 GT3 just set a record for the fastest time around the Nürburgring in a road car with a manual transmission, knocking almost 10 seconds off the previous best time. And Porsche has released a video of the run filmed from the cockpit, so you can experience the thrills for yourself.

The record was set by legendary driver and Porsche brand ambassador Jörg Bergmeister at the wheel of a 911 GT3 with the Weissach package, setting a time of 6:56.294. That's 9.5 seconds ahead of the previous record set by the Dodge Viper ACR in 2017 -- though there's some math involved in these time calculations as the track was reconfigured in 2019.

Read more