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Aurora Solar Car

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Aurora Vehicle Association Inc.
Company typeIncorporated
IndustrySolar Cars
Founded1980
HeadquartersMelbourne, Victoria, Australia
Key people
Andris Samsons(Chairman)
WebsiteAurora Solar Car Website

The Aurora Vehicle Association is a group of volunteers who are dedicated to achieving and demonstrating extreme efficiency in transport. Aurora was started in 1980 by building high-fuel-efficiency petrol-powered vehicles. Between 1983 and 1985 Aurora held the world record for fuel economy at 1808 km per litre (5107 miles per imperial gallon). In 1987, when Hans Tholstrup devised the first trans-Australian World Solar Challenge, Aurora turned to solar car development and has been a contestant in every World Solar Challenge and has achieved 1 win, 4 second places, 1 third place, 1 fifth place, 1 sixth place and 1 crash.

Aurora is a non-profit group which is sustained by corporate sponsorship from companies such as CSIRO, Mazda and Sumitomo (amongst many others).

At various points in its history, Aurora has also been associated with some of Australia's leading universities such as UNSW, University of Technology, Sydney, University of Melbourne and RMIT.

Cars

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Aurora have constructed several solar-powered cars and are now in their 4th generation of car designs.

Ford Model "S" - 1987

Ford Model S Ford Model 'S'
Specifications
Overall length 5.5 meters
Overall width 2.0 meters
Weight 250 kg
Top speed 100 km/h
Drag coefficient 0.26
Solar Panel 1400 watts

Christine - 1990

Christine Christine
Specifications
Overall length 3.1 meters
Overall width 1.6 meters
Weight 180 kg
Top speed 112 km/h
Drag coefficient Cd 0.27
Solar Panel 1100 watts

Aurora Q1 - 1993

Aurora Q1 Aurora Q1
Specifications
Overall length 4.41 meters
Overall width 2.0 meters
Weight 220 kg
Top speed 112 km/h
Drag coefficient Cd 0.095 with race array, 0.08 with prototype smooth array.
Solar Panel 1300 watts

Southern Aurora - 2000

Southern Aurora Southern Aurora
Specifications
Overall length 4.58 meters
Overall width 2 meters
Weight 215 kg
Top speed 122 km/h
Drag coefficient
Solar Panel 1500 watts

Aurora 101 - 1996

Aurora 101 Aurora 101 4th Generation
Specifications
Overall length 4.1 meters
Overall width 1.8 meters
Weight 130 kg
Top speed 152 km/h
Drag coefficient Cd 0.08
Solar Panel 1250 watts

The current flagship is known as Aurora Evolution (Previously Aurora 101). The car weighs 120 kg without batteries or a driver and has attained speeds of 155 km/h. It is built around a triangular carbon fibre frame (with a circular cross section) with a single driven front wheel and two rear wheels. The car's body is attached to the frame at three points through springs and shock absorbers.

The car is extremely aerodynamic, with a drag coefficient of 0.1 and a frontal area of 0.76 square metres. The motor, which was developed as a joint effort between CSIRO, the University of Technology, Sydney and Aurora, weighs 15 kg and has a continuous operating power of 1.8 kW.

The car's power comes from its solar array, which covers a majority of the upper half of its body. There is a total of 5.98 square metres of silicon solar cells, which originally provided up to 1250 W but now provides closer to 1200 W due to degradation. In full racing trim (as per the World Solar Challenge rules) the car weighs 240 kg with its batteries and driver.

Aurora 101 finished second in the 2003 WSC race[1]

Aurora 101 finished 3rd in the 2007 WSC race.[2]

  • Fastest lap at Hidden Valley Racetrack, Darwin Average speed 91.83 km/h.
  • Fastest lap at Suzuka Racetrack Average speed 93.08 km/h.
  • Distance covered in 24 hours non-stop record 1590 km.

World Records

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Year Record
1983 Shell Mileage Marathon. 2,948 mpg
1984 Shell Mileage Marathon. 3,133 mpg
1985 Shell Mileage Marathon. 5,107 mpg
1994 Trans-Continental Solar Challenge. Perth to Sydney, 4,000 km, 8.5 days
1998 Citipower SunRace. Adelaide to Sydney. 2,080 km. Average 100.9 km/h over 100 km
2000 Sydney to Melbourne Day Record: 877 km
2002 13,054 km in 24 days - Long distance solar car journey.
2002 780 km Longest day distance on solar energy
2002 111.2 km/h Highest on-road average speed for 100 km
2002 16,660 km (since 1993) Longest distance solar car driver
2002 131.0 km/h for 100 miles (est. 1994 Biel 121.6 km/h)
2002 131.5 km/h for One Hour (est. 1994 Biel 123.0 km/h)
2002 132.1 km/h for 100 km (est. 1994 Biel 124.3 km/h)
2002 86.2 km/h on solar energy alone (est. 1994 Biel 82.6 km/h)
2004 1255 km in 24 hours
2005 1701 km in 24 hours
2007 World record distance for a battery powered car, in 'Christine', 811 km at 53.05 km/h

Aurora in WSC

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Event Year Placing Average Speed Qualification Grid Position
1987 2nd Place 44.48 km/h 4
1990 6th Place, 1st in Class (Lead Acid) 50.20 km/h 13
1993 5th Place 70.08 km/h 17
1996 Did not finish[3] - 9
1999 1st Place[4] 72.96 km/h 7
2001 2nd Place 90.26 km/h 5
2003 2nd Place 91.90 km/h 1
2005 2nd Place 92.03 km/h 1
2007 3rd Overall, 1st in Class 85.00 km/h 3
2009 6th Place 70.82 km/h 1

References

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  1. ^ "Dutch solar car wins famous race". 22 October 2003.
  2. ^ "Dutch win solar car race". 25 October 2007.
  3. ^ SAE Australasia, September / October 1999, Volume 59, Number 5, Page 15
  4. ^ Australian Energy News, Issue 14, Dec 1999, Page 39
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