World Solar Challenge 1996

The 1996 World Solar Challenge was an edition of the trans-Australian solar-powered car race across 3,000 km (1,900 mi) of highway through the Australian Outback from Darwin, Northern Territory to Adelaide, South Australia.

It was the fourth such edition of the event, held every three years since 1987.

The race was won by the 'Dream II' car from Honda's research and development team for the second consecutive event, ahead of a combined engineering school team from Biel, Switzerland. Honda broke its own race record, completing the course at an average speed of 89.76 km/h.

Event founder and adventurer Hans Tholstrup sold the event to a winning bid from the South Australian Government following the 1996 edition.

Entrants
There were 48 listed entrants as part of the event, with 32 completing the course.

Among those participants were teams from automotive manufacturers Honda and Mitsubishi. The Biel College of Engineering team included contributions from several schools in the Biel-Bienne region. Return competitors and pre-event favourites included Honda, Japanese automotive components manufacturer Aisin Seiki, and the Victoria-based Aurora Vehicle Association.

It also marked the first appearance of the University of New South Wales 'Sunswift' car. Cars were able to be either one or two-seaters.

Route
The World Solar Challenge runs across approximately 3,000 km from Darwin, the capital of the Northern Territory, to Adelaide, the capital of South Australia.

Class winners and Awards
A number of prizes were awarded following the event as well as recognition of individual class winners.

School Awards
Other Awards