History >
Past Vehicles
Borealis III:
Borealis III was the 7th car built by the UMNSVP. Where the Borealis
II team had concentrated on reliability, the mantra for Borealis III
was "weight savings". The team went to great lengths to cut as much
weight out of the car as they could, and their efforts paid off when
they arrived at the 2005 Formula Sun with a car that weighed a bare 400
pounds. The team took home first place from Formula Sun that year, and
set their sights on the 2005 North American Solar Challenge, a
2500-mile race from Austin, Texas to Calgary, Alberta. The team led
significant portions of the race, including the crossing from the USA
to Canada, and earned Second Place Overall.
- 2005 Formula Sun Grand Prix
- Espirit de Corps
- 2005 North American Solar Challenge (Austin, Texas, USA to Calgary, Alberta, Canada)
- 2006 World Solar Rally (Kaohsiung, Taiwan)
Design of Borealis III
Borealis III Specifications
Borealis II:
 Borealis II was the Projects sixth generation car. Built as an evolutionary design that stressed reliability and raced by a primarily all-new race crew, the 2003 team was the first for the UMNSVP to take First Place Overall in a race at Formula Sun 2003. By improving upon new technologies from the Borealis I car, the reliability of Borealis II came to be its defining characteristic. The car went on to overcome adversity two months later at the American Solar Challenge, when damage to the chassis threatened to end the race for the team. The car and team pushed ahead with repairs and finished Second Place Overall completing the 2300-mile route that started in Chicago, Il and ended in Claremont, CA. In May of 2004, a new team of returning and new team members took Second Place at Formula Sun 2004 in Topeka, KS.
- 2003 Formula Sun Grand Prix
- 1st Place Overall
- Pole Position
- Ironman Competition (Tire Change) Winner
- Pit Crew Competition Winner
- 2003 American Solar Challenge (Chicago, Illinois to Los Angeles, California)
- 2004 Formula Sun Grand Prix
Archived Borealis II Website
Borealis II Team Members
Borealis I:
 Borealis was the team's 5th generation solar powered race car. The Borealis team incorporated radical improvements into the vehicle from the initial concept to final design. The team raced Borealis in the 2001 inaugural American Solar Challenge along historic Route 66 from Chicago to L.A. Borealis and the team overcame initial difficulties and climbed to a 6th place overall finish. Borealis also raced in the 2002 Formula Sun Grand Prix where it placed 2nd overall.
- 2001 Formula Sun Grand Prix - Heartland Park
- 12th Place Overall (Qualified for ASC)
- 2001 American Solar Challenge (Chicago, Illinois to Los Angeles, California)
- 2002 Formula Sun Grand Prix
Archived Borealis I Website
Aurora IV:
 Aurora 4's design was founded on the successful innovations of Aurora3 & Aurora II. After taking 4th place in Sunrayce 99, Aurora 4 raced in the World Solar Challenge, the premier event in solar car racing. In the World Solar Challenge, Aurora 4 captured another 4th place finish in the Cutout Class of vehicles.
- Sunrayce `99 (Washington, DC to Epcot Center, Orlando, Florida)
- 1999 World Solar Challenge (Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia to Adelaide, South Australia, Australia)
Archived Aurora IV Website
Aurora III:
 Aurora3 has a top speed of 78 mph, runs 55 mph on the power of a hairdryer and can travel over 120 miles without any sun! Four out of the nine days of Sunrayce 97, the Aurora3 finished in the top three while also unofficially beating its old average daily speed record of 50.4 mph to the unprecedented 51.6 mph averaged over 150 miles. Aurora3 also won the Junior Class Championship at the 1998 World Solar-Car Rallye, while coming in 7th overall out of 81 registered cars. It placed higher than many cars in the free class, where unlimited funds can be spent. With Aurora3, the team continued in its tradition of dramatically improving the car's efficiency compared to its predecessors. The project consistently produces vehicles capable of competing with world-class teams.
- Sunrayce `97 (Indianapolis, Indiana to Colorado Springs, Colorado)
- 11th Place Overall (out of 36)
- 1998 World Solar Rallye (Akita, Japan)
- Junior Class Champion
- 7th Place overall (out of 81)
- 2000 Formula Sun Grand Prix
- 2nd Place Open Class
- 3rd Place Overall
Archived Aurora III Website
Aurora II:
 Aurora II won second place in Sunrayce 95, only eighteen minutes behind the winning car and more than three hours ahead of the third-place entry. Three times during the race Aurora II broke the Sunrayce record for daily average speed and set a record of 50.4 miles per hour. In addition, its elegant shape won the EDS Award for Best Use of Aerodynamics in Design. The team's success earned an invitation to compete with seventy-nine of the world's best solar car at the World Solar Ralleye in Japan, where Aurora II placed second in the junior class and ninth overall.
- Sunrayce `95 (Indianapolis, Indiana to Aurora, Colorado)
- 2nd Place Overall
- Best daily average speed (50.4 mph)
- Awarded "EDS Best use of Aerodynamics in Design"
- 1995 World Solar Rallye (Akita, Japan)
- 2nd Place, Junior Class
- 9th Place Overall (out of 79)
Archived Aurora II Website
Aurora I:
 The extraordinary success of Aurora II in Sunrayce 95 would not have been possible without the knowledge and experience gained through the design, construction and racing of Aurora I in Sunrayce 93. A group of undergraduate students formed the Solar Vehicle Project in the wake of the GM Sunrayce USA 1990. The project's first solar car, Aurora I, placed 21st in a field of 36 in Sunrayce 93 and won the SAE Design Excellence in Engineering Safety Award. As they raced, the students who built Aurora I began to plan how they would use the lessons of the race to design a better solar car. The ideas generated then became the premise to design and build Aurora II.
- Sunrayce `93 (Arlington, Texas to Minneapolis, Minnesota)
- 21st Place Overall (out of 36)
- Awarded "SAE Design Excellence in Engineering Safety"
Archived Aurora I Website |
