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 The World Solar Challenge (WSC), since 2013 named Bridgestone World Solar Challenge, is an international event for solar powered cars driving 3000 kilometres through the Australian outback. With the exception of a four-year gap between ...

, Aurora turned to solar car development and has been a contestant in every

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 The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) is an Australian Government The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government, is the national government of Australia, a federal parliamentar ...

Mazda , commonly referred to as simply Mazda, is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Fuchū, Hiroshima, Japan. In 2015, Mazda produced 1.5 million vehicles for global sales, the majority of which (nearly one m ...

and

Sumitomo The is one of the largest Japanese ''keiretsu'', or business groups, founded by Masatomo Sumitomo (1585-1652) around 1615 during the early Edo period. History The Sumitomo Group traces its roots to a bookshop in Kyoto founded circa 1615 by Masa ...

(amongst many others). At various points in its history, Aurora has also been associated with some of Australia's leading universities such as

UNSW The University of New South Wales (UNSW), also known as UNSW Sydney, is a public research university based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is one of the founding members of Group of Eight, a coalition of Australian research-intensive ...

University of Technology, Sydney The University of Technology Sydney (UTS) is a public research university located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Although its origins are said to trace back to the 1830s, the university was founded in its current form in 1988. As of 2021 ...

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb nor ...

and

RMIT RMIT University, officially the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology,, section 4(b) is a public research university in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1887 by Francis Ormond, RMIT began as a night school offering classes in art, scienc ...

Cars

Aurora have constructed several solar-powered cars and are now in their 4th generation of car designs. Ford Model "S" - 1987 Christine - 1990 Aurora Q1 - 1993 Southern Aurora - 2000 Aurora 101 - 1996 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 In fluid dynamics, the drag coefficient (commonly denoted as: c_\mathrm, c_x or c_) is a dimensionless quantity that is used to quantify the drag or resistance of an object in a fluid environment, such as air or water. It is used in the drag equ ...

of 0.1 and a frontal area of 0.76 square metres. The motor, which was developed as a joint effort between

, the

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

rules) the car weighs 240 kg with its batteries and driver. Aurora 101 finished second in the 2003 WSC race Aurora 101 finished 3rd in the 2007 WSC race. * 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.

Cars

World Records

Aurora in WSC

References

External links