POLK COUNTY, Fla. — The Mechanical Engineering Students of Florida Polytechnic University are all about independence.
Even outside of coursework requirements, they decided to come together all their own and create something that could change the future of transportation: a solar car they built completely from scratch.
The Formula Sun Prix Event is an engineering design competition similar to robot wars or civil engineers testing out concrete canoes.
But mechanical engineers like to race things, and this upcoming summer, they've chosen a solar car.
For now, all they have is a prototype built from sourced materials they themselves collected and assembled. But the final car will have a frame and better safety protection.
The prototype already peaks at about 45 mph when going at a top speed of 84 volts, and it took some real time to build.
The end product will have longer-lasting battery power, and if the students score high enough, they'll qualify for the American Solar Challenge, a cross-country event that works with the National Park Service. That'll be the time of course, that they have all of Tampa Bay rooting for their success.
