Current/Past Cars

Celeritas

Celeritas is Purdue Solar Racing’s 8th vehicle, and the first Urban Concept vehicle Purdue Solar Racing has designed and built. Celeritas competed with great success at the 2011 Shell Eco-Marathon, and achieved an equivalent 2,175 mpg, and won the Solar Urban Concept division. Celeritas also completed in the 2012 Shell Eco-Marathon and again won the Solar Urban Concept category, achieving an improved mileage of 2,250 mpg.

Urban concept cars are required to look more like normal cars, including doors, and upright seating.  Celeritas’ design represents another quantum leap for PSR, with revolutionary designs and cutting-edge technology integrated into the vehicle.

Celeritas is Latin for “swiftness” or “speed.”  It is often cited as the origin for the symbol (c) that represents the speed of light, most notably in Einstein’s equation E = m c^2.

Pulsar

Purdue Solar Racing achieved success with its 2008 vehicle, PULSAR.  PULSAR set new standards for PSR with its revolutionary design and outstanding performance, with PULSAR winning the Eco-Marathon Solar Prototype Division in 2008, 2009, and 2010.

PULSAR is PSR’s seventh car. It is the smallest PSR car to date, roughly 70% the size of the other cars, and the lightest by far, weighing only 158 pounds without adriver.  It competed in the 2008 Shell Eco-Marathon, winning the solar division with 2861.8 mpg.  (The mileage was calculated from the amount of energy used by the motor.)  This actually made PULSAR the most efficient vehicle in the field, but competition rules do not allow solar teams to win the grand prize.

Several modifications were made to PULSAR for the 2009 Shell Eco-Marathon, including the installation of a new motor, redesigned suspension and steering, and new brakes.  Real-time monitoring was also added.  These changes allowed PULSAR to win the solar prototype division again, this time with an efficiency of 4913 mph.

Technical Information:

SPOT II

PSR’s sixth car, SPOT II, was a modification of the design for SPOT I. SPOT II was lighter, weighing in at 440 pounds and was the first of PSR’s cars to have only three wheels. Its array generates roughly 1,000 Watts, enough to cruise at 45 mph indefinitely.  SPOT II’s top speed is roughly 65 mph.  Due to technical issues, however, SPOT II failed to qualify for the 2005 North American Solar Challenge.  In 2006, SPOT II completed a Tour of Indiana, visiting many of our sponsors and various high schools.

Technical Information:

SPOT I

SPOT I placed 13th in the 2003 North American Solar Challenge.  It represented a major change in design and was the first of PSR’s cars to be constructed of kevlar and a composite chassis.  SPOT I weighs 650 without a driver.

Technical Information:

Heliophile PI

Heliophile Pi was a major redesign for the team. As PSR’s fourth car, it finished 22nd in the 1999 Sunrayce, and was the lightest vehicle in the field. During the 1999 Sunrayce, PSR had its best segment finishes so far, placing sixth and twelfth. PSR was also awarded the Sportmanship Award for the helpful hand lent to Ohio State after an accident.

Technical Information:

Heliophile 2.5

PSR’s third car, Heliophile 2.5, place 34th in the 1997 Sunrayce.

Heliophile 1.5

Heliophile 1.5 was PSR’s second car. It placed seventeenth out of forty participants in the 1995 Sunrayce.

Boilermaker Special

PSR’s first vehicle was finished in 1993, but it did not qualify for the Sunrayce in 1993.