Iran Wins Award In American Solar Challenge

Tehran, Aug 3, IRNA - Qazvin Azad University’s team has won the award for the best foreign team and ranked eighth in the American Solar Challenge. The eight-day, 1,700-mile (2,700-kilometer) race began on July 21 in Austin, Texas. Twenty-three teams of college students raced across seven states before crossing the finish line in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on July 28. The race is held every other year. Iran’s four-wheeled car, named Havin-2, which means “Brilliant Sun” in Persian, placed first in the technical section due to its dynamics and suspension system. Teams from Michigan, Minnesota and Iowa universities ranked first to third respectively. The 220-kilogram vehicle is 4.5 meters long, 1.8 meters wide and 1.1 meters tall, with a cockpit-like canopy for the driver. With photovoltaic cells covering some 65 square feet (6 square meters) of its surface, the car’s lithium-ion batteries can drive it for up to four hours. The car’s predecessor, Havin-1, ranked 17th in the 2011 World Solar Challenge in Australia./end