9/1/2020
While new developments continue to emerge for Turkey in the world of car racing, positive news also arrived from the European Solar Challenge (24 Hours iLumen European Solar Challenge – ESC), a competition for solar-powered vehicles. Competing among nine participants from five different countries, the Istanbul Technical University Solar Car Team (ITU GAE), supported by Zorlu Enerji, achieved several successes.
At the race held in Belgium, ITU GAE was the only team participating from outside the EU. They ranked 3rd in the Fastest Lap stage, 5th in the Dynamic Track stage, 8th in the Most Laps Completed stage, and finished 7th overall. For their efforts, the team was awarded the “Most Determined Team” trophy.
Approximately 40 engineering candidates contributed to ITU GAE’s car, named B.O.W. (Bees on Wheels), which features a 1.8 kW motor and has a maximum speed of 140 km/h. The vehicle weighs a total of 170 kilograms and has a battery capacity of 6.1 kWh.
B.O.W., which began design in 2016 and was completed in 2017 after about one year of production, has represented Turkey in various international races including the World Solar Challenge (WSC) and ESC.