2025 Formula Sun Grand Prix

This past summer, we raced our third car, Calypso, in the 2025 Formula Sun Grand Prix, which took place at the National Corvette Museum Motorsports Park in Bowling Green, Kentucky. The first phase of the competition is scrutineering, in which engineers from various industries volunteer their time to ensure every solar car is safe, adheres to competition regulations, and is ready to race. After working days and nights in our garage and on the track, our team ensured that we were able to finish scrutineering fast enough to be one of the first cars on the track by the start of Day 1. Reliability was the theme of our race, as our car was able to stay on the track consistently for all three days of the competition. Ultimately, we drove 223 laps, a track record, and took First Place! This was the team’s first win in our history. This represents a major milestone for our team, and we believe it is representative of even greater success to come.

Above: 2025 FSGP Victory

Project D

The team is hard at work developing our fourth-generation vehicle, code-named “Project D.” Compared to Calypso, which had a four-square-meter solar array, Project D will feature an even larger six-square-meter solar array. We’ve designed our car to be lighter and more efficient than ever before, and combined with our expanded solar array, we will be able to travel much farther than ever before. We aim to unveil this car in June 2026 in preparation for the summer’s American Solar Challenge.

Chicago Auto Show

Above: Illini Solar Car at the Chicago Auto Show     

Illini Solar Car exhibited at the Chicago Auto Show for the third year in a row! This is our team’s premier outreach event, and we are incredibly honored to have this opportunity. At the Auto Show, our members represent our team and our university to thousands of people. The show serves as a powerful opportunity for community engagement and fundraising to support the American Solar Challenge this summer.

2026 American Solar Challenge

Our team is thrilled to once again compete in the 2026 Formula Sun Grand Prix and American Solar Challenge. This year’s FSGP will take place at Brainerd International Raceway in Brainerd, Minnesota. This year will also include the American Solar Challenge, a distance-based competition where teams will follow a route spanning about 2,000 miles across the country on public roads. Illini Solar Car plans to race Project D and aims to build upon the team’s recent competitive success.

Acknowledgments

Illini Solar Car is advised by Professor Arijit Banerjee and heavily supported by the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. The team would like to thank all of its university and corporate partners and sponsors for their aid in developing and racing Calypso. This article was written by Matthew Adler, 2025-2026 President of Illini Solar Car, B.S. Physics 2027. The pictures were taken by Cora Kennedy, Andy Yang, and Brooke Mickey.

Above: 2025 Illini Solar Car Full Team