Solar Car team takes international success to regional NSW

Western Sydney University’s Solar Car team will take their world-class solar and engineering innovations to regional New South Wales as part of a five-day Regional Roadshow.

Running from 13-17 July, the roadshow will see the team travel more than 1,240km, departing from their workshop in Kingswood, visiting Bathurst, Dubbo, Coonabarabran, Scone, before finishing at Sydney Motorsport Park.

Meeting with schools and community members across five days of events, demonstrations and meet and greets, the student-led team supported by the Faculty of Engineering, Computing and Science will share their passion for sustainability and innovation.

Joint Team Leader and Mechanical Lead, Jacob Taranto, said returning to regional NSW was a highlight for the team.

“This roadshow gives us the opportunity to let UNLIMITED 6.0 stretch its legs following its last international competition, the Bridgestone World Solar Challenge in 2025,” said Jacob.

“The trip gives regional communities the chance to see cutting-edge technology we’re working on in our backyard here in Western Sydney.”

A highlight of the roadshow will be the display of ‘UNLIMITED 6.0’, the team’s most innovative and advanced solar car design to date and the vehicle that was behind the top-performing Australian solar car team at last year’s Bridgestone World Solar Challenge.

Designed, engineered and manufactured entirely in-house by students, the three-wheeled design, with a top speed of 130km/h, took two years to design, engineer and manufacture. The car features a composite front roll hoop that can support the weight of a family car while weighing just under two kilograms, to protect the driver.

The solar vehicle can travel 300km using the same amount of energy that a Tesla needs to travel just 25km.

Joint Team Leader and Strategy Lead, Arya Kandadai, said sharing the team's world-class solar vehicle with regional communities will be a rewarding experience.

“We spend countless hours in the workshop designing, engineering and perfecting our solar vehicles and strategy, so it’s really important to take all of our knowledge and share that with the community, and hopefully inspire the next generation of engineers,” said Arya.

Over more than a decade, the team has produced six cars, becoming the first international team to win the American Solar Challenge in 2018, beating Michigan University’s 8-year winning streak. The team also broke the record in 2019 for the lightest solar-powered vehicle ever to race weighing only 116.8 kilograms.

The Solar Car Team is made up of 25 students from the fields of engineering, communications, business, IT, computer, and science. They manage every aspect of the production and design of the vehicle, as well as sponsorship, marketing and the administrative elements of their involvement in international competitions. The team utilise world-class facilities at the Advanced Manufacturing Precinct based at Kingswood.

Lucas Woodward, Communications lead, said the team were visiting some of the big spots in town, but it was often speaking with community members along the way that was most impactful.

“The roadshow is all about making sustainability and engineering accessible. Whether we are speaking at an event or meeting the community in a local park, every conversation is an opportunity to inspire someone to think differently,” said Lucas.

The team’s Regional Roadshow is supported by ABERGELDIE, Phoenix Contact and Sydney Motorsport Park.

Follow the journey on Instagram for the latest updates and to keep up with the roadshow as it travels across NSW. The roadshow schedule is as follows:

ENDS.

10 July 2026
Ali Sardyga, Senior Media and PR Advisor