World’s first trans-continental solar car race

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It happened just over 20 years ago but recent oil prices have piqued our interest in sun cars again. The Pentax World Solar challenge was officially the first trans-continental solar car race traveling from Darwin to Adelaide, Australia. Several of the entries were primitive (by today’s standards) most notably an entry from southwestern Missouri dubbed the “flying bed”. Most were produced by college engineering students other entries came from early evangelists for alternative energy.  Car giant GM devoted a huge amount of resources to its Sunraycer entry, assuring a victory by a wide margin.

It took more than a week for most racers to make the 1629-mile trek down the lonely, Stuart Highway. Often referred to as “the Track” the highway passes through the familiar burgs of Alice Springs and Coober Pedy. At the Three Ways Roadhouse just north of Tennant Creek they’ll steal your underwear for wall decoration…or at least they did 20 years ago.

Keith