Solar car displayed after U.S. tour, races

After hours of work, a tour of the entire United States and the successful completion of two of the most difficult races in the world, the Penn Solar Racing Team has finally taken a rest. The team and its car -- the Liberty Belle -- were featured along with hundreds of other automobiles and their designers participating in the Philadelphia International Auto Show, held at the Philadelphia Convention Center this weekend. The solar car, which is capable of speeds up to 75 miles per hour and runs on a combination of solar and battery power, was prominently displayed along with automakers such as Lotus, Lamborghini and Lexus during the auto show. The public had the opportunity to view the cars and speak with their designers. "The kids always ask the best questions," said former Engineering graduate student Anders Gustafson, who has been working on the team for three years. "It's fun to show off the car after having put so much work into its production." Gustafson, who is responsible for driving the car, participated in the auto show along with Engineering junior Ryan Crowell and Engineering sophomore Richard Watts, explaining the car to numerous curious spectators. The solar car team includes 20 members, most of whom are Wharton and Engineering students. Each member works on either the electrical, mechanical, body design or business committees, but the entire team is responsible for the successes -- and failures -- of the car. The Penn students specifically designed the Liberty Belle for the 1994 Tour de Sol, a race from New York to Philadelphia. The team won an award for most efficient vehicle and placed third in the overall racing category for that race. "The Tour de Sol went incredibly smoothly," said Crowell, who has been the head electrical engineer on the car for three years. "We were extremely pleased by our performance?we did even better than we expected." After their success in the Tour de Sol, the team decided to try their luck in Sunrayce '95, an extremely competitive race that runs from Indianapolis to Denver. "Sunrayce was an added bonus," said Gustafson, who graduated last semester and is about to take a job in the auto industry. "The Liberty Belle was designed for the Tour, and we weren't even expecting to qualify for Sunrayce '95." Once the race began, however, the team faced its most serious challenge when an electrical problem caused the motor to stall. "We had to replace the entire motor," Crowell said. "In fact, we had to rewire the entire car from top to bottom. It was like rebuilding the thing." Working under tremendous time pressure and with few available parts, the team was able to replace the motor, rewire the car and finish the race. "Experiences like that make this one of the best projects I've ever worked on at Penn," Gustafson said. "It develops hands-on skills that employers really look for. "When else would I get a chance to use my skills under that kind of pressure?" he added. The team is now looking forward to Sunrayce '97, when they will look for even better performance from their new car, the Independence, which is already in the design stages. The new car will feature a number of design changes that the team hopes will improve their results in Sunrayce. Wharton sophomore Josh Goza, who is in charge of the business committee, said he will be helping to fund the building and racing of the Independence. "Fundraising for a project like this is obviously a difficult undertaking, but it's been an interesting challenge," said Goza, who helped raise the $120,000 that the Liberty Belle cost. "We have received generous donations from companies like Hexcel, who donated materials for the entire body frame of this car." The business committee also organizes the hotel accommodations for the team as it races across the country, along with other appearances for the car and its design squad. "We've driven the car to schools and organized our appearance here at the auto show," Goza explained. "It's important for people to know that the University is sponsoring a project like this." All of the team members agreed that working on the car was worth their time.