This list is now out of date. See here for a revised list.
Here is a further update on the 47 teams (29 Challengers, 17 Cruisers, and 1 Adventure car) from 23 countries aiming for the 2019 Bridgestone World Solar Challenge in Australia this October. Below is my best understanding of the current team status, updated to match the official list of teams (sadly, Appalachian State University have dropped out, as have Golden State). Teams are sorted in team number order, and I have included team travel plans (where known). As always, you can click the social media links, and click images to zoom.
There is an ASC-style documentation progress chart this year. In terms of physical progress, most cars have been revealed by now. There has been no word on a reveal from 4 teams (Mines Rabat, Beijing, Dyuti, and Estidamah). Those teams are all probably in some degree of trouble, and may not turn up in Darwin.
Except for countries close to Australia, the deadline for sea freight has pretty much passed. Teams that had planned on flying out their car to Australia have largely done so. People have started flying out as well, with Eindhoven the first overseas team to arrive in the country. Eleven other teams have since joined them.
Monohull GaAs challenger (new car: Electrum) – their car name is the name of a gold/silver alloy famous in antiquity. They revealed their car on 19 July (video). They are now in Adelaide.
Previously, Michigan came 9th at WSC 13; came 4th at WSC 15; came 2nd at WSC 17; won ASC 14; won ASC 16; came 2nd at ASC 18; and won Abu Dhabi 15. Their team number (2) is a long-standing tradition.
Asymmetric GaAs challenger (new car: Nuna X) – these are the champions formerly known as Nuon. See their 2017 aftermovie. The new car weighs just 135 kg (298 lbs) and has a unique asymmetrical rear (designed to take advantage of October winds coming primarily from the east). The car has clocked up many test kilometres. They revealed their car on 16 July (video). Part of their team was assigned to do a detailed Adelaide-to-Darwin reverse route survey. As always, their main pre-race base is Nightcliff Primary School in Darwin. They are now in Darwin.
Previously, Vattenfall won WSC 13; won WSC 15; won WSC 17; won SASOL 14; won SASOL 16; and won SASOL 18. Their team number (3) is a long-standing tradition.
Monohull challenger (new car: Intikallpa V) – they have been working hard getting their car finished. They revealed their car on 13 September (pic). As far as I know, the team is still at home.
Previously, Antakari participated in the WSC 13 Adventure class and came 10th at WSC 17.
5 
Singapore Polytechnic 
Two-seat cruiser (SunSPEC 6) – their 2019 car is a modified version of their 2017 car SunSPEC 5. They revealed their car on 30 July (pic). They are now in Adelaide.
Previously, Singapore came 16th at WSC 13; participated in the WSC 15 Cruiser class; and participated in the WSC 17 Cruiser class.
Monohull single junction GaAs challenger (new team with car: Green Lightning) – their car is a bullet car resembling Michigan’s 2017 Novum. It looks so good that at this stage I’m calling them “best new team.” Their car has four-wheel steering at low speed and two-wheel steering at high speed. There are Dutch media reports about their plans, and they are vlogging weekly (in Dutch, but they have started adding English subtitles). They revealed their car on 12 June (video). The Netherlands 11th Airmobile Brigade provided some final training on dealing with unusual challenges. They are now in Coober Pedy. They plan to do some testing there. They plan to be in Darwin on 28 September.
Asymmetric challenger (Lumen II Mk II) – they have been doing a lot of testing. As far as I know, the team is still at home.
Previously, Adelaide came 21st at WSC 15 and participated at WSC 17.
Asymmetric GaAs challenger (new car: BluePoint) – they are now sponsored by Agoria. They held a mock race with the old car. Their new car looks very similar. They revealed their car on 3 July (video). Their main pre-race base is Casuarina Senior College in Darwin. They are now in Darwin.
Previously, Agoria came 6th at WSC 13; came 5th at WSC 15; came 3rd at WSC 17; came 3rd at Abu Dhabi 15; came 2nd at iESC 16; and came 6th at iESC 18. Their team number (8) is a long-standing tradition.
Four-seat cruiser (Emilia 4 LT) – they won the American Solar Challenge (Cruiser class) last year, and they have written up their design process here, but they have since made substantial improvements to the vehicle, including to the aerodynamics, suspension, battery, and solar panels. There is also an unusual open tail. They shipped their car on the MSC Loretta (as did SER). As far as I know, the team is still at home.
Previously, Onda came 10th at WSC 13; won the ASC 18 Cruiser class; came 10th at Abu Dhabi 15; and came 6th at iESC 16. Their team number (9) is taken from the SS 9, the highway through Bologna, which was once the Roman Via Aemilia (hence also the name of their vehicle).
Monohull challenger (new car: Tokai Challenger) – their new car looks almost identical to the old one, but with optimisations following aerodynamic analysis. They are also using a lithium polymer battery pack instead of lithium-ion, and Sunpower solar cells instead of Panasonic HIT cells this year. They are reporting an unchanged solar cell efficiency of 24.1%, although this seems inconsistent with what Sunpower says. I am assuming that they have shipped the car. As far as I know, the team is still at home. They plan to be in Darwin on 3 October.
Previously, Tokai came 2nd at WSC 13; came 3rd at WSC 15; came 4th at WSC 17; came 7th at Abu Dhabi 15; came 2nd at SASOL 16; and came 2nd at SASOL 18.
Two-seat cruiser (thyssenkrupp SunRiser) – Bochum is not building a new WSC car, but are improving their sexy 2-seater SunRiser, which came 3rd in 2015. They also have a solar buggy team. Their thyssenkrupp SunRiser reached Sydney on the ship Al Bahia on 27 August. They are now in Alice Springs.
Previously, Bochum came 2nd in the WSC 13 Cruiser class; came 3rd in the WSC 15 Cruiser class; came 2nd in the WSC 17 Cruiser class; came 3rd, 4th, and 5th at iESC 16; came 2nd, 3rd, and 5th in the iESC 18 Cruiser class; came 1st and 7th at Albi Eco 18; and came 1st and 2nd at Albi Eco 19.
photo: Anthony Dekker
Four-seat cruiser (new car: Helia) – they have had motor problems. They revealed their car on 15 August (pic). As far as I know, the team is still at home.
Previously, Cambridge came 22nd at WSC 15 and came 10th at iESC 16.
Left: Nigel / Right: Nigel
Two-seat cruiser (Investigator Mk 3) – they were planning to improve aerodynamics, reduce weight, and make some other changes. They have taken an unusual approach to the motor. As far as I know, the team is still at home.
Previously, Flinders participated in the WSC 17 Cruiser class.
Monohull GaAs challenger (new car: Unlimited 3.0) – they won the American Solar Challenge last year (with their car Unlimited 2.0), but have built a hot new “bullet car” this year. They revealed their car on 7 August (pic). They are now in Coober Pedy. They plan to do some testing there.
Previously, WSU came 11th at WSC 13; came 10th at WSC 15; came 6th at WSC 17; and won ASC 18.
Left: Anthony Dekker / Right: Anthony Dekker
Monohull challenger (new car: Black Mamba) – they first showed us their shell, which is a unique asymmetric bullet car. They revealed their car on 21 July (pic). They are now in Adelaide.
Previously, Stanford came 4th at WSC 13; came 6th at WSC 15; and came 9th at WSC 17.
Asymmetric challenger (new car: Tigris) – they revealed their car on Malaysian television on the morning of 20 August. As far as I know, the team is still at home.
Previously, EcoPhoton came 26th at WSC 15 and participated at WSC 17.
Asymmetric challenger (new car: Ortus) – they report 24% lower drag and 28% lower weight than their previous car. They revealed their car on 12 August (pic). As far as I know, the team is still at home.
Previously, Durham came 27th at WSC 15 and participated at WSC 17.
Asymmetric GaAs challenger (new car: RED E) – they are already producing regular vlogs (in Dutch), and have also produced an (English) day-in-the-life blog post. Their design is an incredibly tiny GaAs catamaran with shingled solar cells. They developed a MOOC explaining the design of their 2015 car, and there is an online game of their new car. They revealed their car on 21 June (video). They have, once again, run an excellent simulated race. They are now in Darwin.
Previously, Twente came 3rd at WSC 13; came 2nd at WSC 15; came 5th at WSC 17; won iESC 16; and came 1st and 2nd at iESC 18. Their team number (21) is a pun and a wish for success in the race (“Twente-One”).
Classic symmetric challenger (Viking) – this year’s car is an improved version of their 2017 car, with better aerodynamics and electronics. In particular, the two “bites” on the side have been filled in. They revealed their car on 29 June (pic). As far as I know, the team is still at home.
Previously, MDH participated at WSC 17.
Outrigger challenger (new team with car: Heart Three) – their render showed a bullet car, much like Michigan’s 2017 entry, but they have built a car with outriggers (with the associated drag issues). They revealed their car on 11 June (pic). As far as I know, the team is still at home.
25 
Hong Kong Institute of Vocational Education 
Two-seat cruiser (Sophie 6s) – their car is a modification of Sophie 6 from 2017. They revealed their car on 6 July (pic). As far as I know, the team is still at home.
Previously, HK IVE participated in the WSC 13 Adventure class; participated in the WSC 15 Cruiser class; and participated in the WSC 17 Cruiser class.
Adventure (Arrow1) – because of damage to their Cruiser car during testing, they have transferred to the Adventure class with an older car. As far as I know, the team is still at home.
Previously, Arrow came 7th at WSC 13; came 8th at WSC 15; came 3rd in the WSC 17 Cruiser class; came 5th at Abu Dhabi 15; and came 8th at iESC 18. Their team number (30) is the average age of people on the original team.
public domain photo
31 
Solar Energy Racers 
Asymmetric challenger (SER-3) – they raced this car in South Africa, but have made some improvements. They revealed the car on 10 July, prior to sending it to Australia by sea (on the MSC Loretta with Onda Solare’s car). As far as I know, the team is still at home. They plan to be in Darwin on 6 October.
Previously, SER came 5th at WSC 13; came 2nd at ASC 16; came 11th at Abu Dhabi 15; came 3rd at SASOL 18; and came 8th at iESC 16.
Two-seat cruiser (Eos II) – they are building a new car, but will race an upgraded version of their existing one for BWSC 19 (revealing the upgrade on 19 July). As far as I know, the team is still at home.
Previously, Minnesota came 4th in the WSC 13 Cruiser class; came 5th in the WSC 15 Cruiser class; participated in the WSC 17 Cruiser class; came 2nd at ASC 14; came equal 10th at ASC 16; and came equal 2nd in the ASC 18 Cruiser class. Their team number (35) is derived from the Interstate 35 highway.
Asymmetric challenger (Musoushin) – this high-school team always does very well. I am assuming that they have shipped the car. As far as I know, the team is still at home.
Previously, Goko came 5th in the WSC 13 Cruiser class; came 14th at WSC 15; and participated at WSC 17.
Four-seat cruiser (new car: Stella Era) – their new car has many cool features and a range of 1200 km. They revealed their car on 4 July (video). Tragically, their solar panel was damaged in transit. They are now in Darwin.
Previously, Eindhoven won the WSC 13 Cruiser class; won the WSC 15 Cruiser class; won the WSC 17 Cruiser class; and came 7th in the iESC 18 Cruiser class. Their team number (40) is the Eindhoven telephone area code.
Asymmetric challenger (new car: MTAA Super Charge 2) – their shell was produced by Sydney Composites. They revealed their car on 12 September. As far as I know, the team is still at home.
Previously, ANU participated at WSC 17.
42 
TAFE SA
Two-seat cruiser (SAV) – this time they will tow the trailer that belongs with the car. As far as I know, the team is still at home.
Previously, TAFE SA came 7th in the WSC 13 Cruiser class; participated in the WSC 15 Adventure class; and participated in the WSC 17 Cruiser class.
Two-seat cruiser (Ardingly Solar Car) – this high-school team came 6th in the iESC Cruiser class, but have upgraded the car since then. As far as I know, the team is still at home.
Previously, Ardingly participated in the WSC 15 Cruiser class; came 6th in the iESC 18 Cruiser class; and participated at Albi Eco 19.
Four-seat 60-kWh cruiser (Eagle Two) – they have upgraded and repainted their car, and improved the interior. As far as I know, the team is still at home.
Previously, Lodz participated in the WSC 15 Cruiser class; participated in the WSC 17 Cruiser class; came 5th at SASOL 16; and won the iESC 18 Cruiser class. Their team number (45) is a tradition since 2015.
Asymmetric challenger (new car: Axelent) – after showing us a rolling test chassis, a body, and a battery, they revealed their car on 30 August (video). As far as I know, the team is still at home.
Previously, JU came 20th at WSC 13; came 15th at WSC 15; and came 8th at WSC 17. Their team number (46) is the Swedish national telephone prefix.
Monohull challenger (new car: Horizon Ace) – their car resembles Tokai’s 2017 vehicle. They revealed their car on 6 July (pic). As far as I know, the team is still at home.
Previously, NITech came 16th at WSC 15 and came 12th at WSC 17.
Three-seat 33-kWh cruiser (new car: STC-3) – they have a unique passengers-behind-driver Cruiser design, which they have tested on the highway. They have received extensive local news coverage in Thailand. They revealed their car on 8 August (video). As far as I know, the team is still at home.
Previously, STC came 28th at WSC 15 and participated in the WSC 17 Cruiser class.
Outrigger challenger (new team with car: Alfrödull) – their final render resembles the car of the South African NWU team. They have a rolling chassis, which they revealed in May. Their shipping date was in July. See their promo video here. As far as I know, the team is still at home.
Asymmetric challenger (new car: Eleadora 2) – they have a shell and a rolling chassis. However, they have decided to attend the Moroccan Solar Challenge instead.
Classic symmetric challenger (new car: Areej 1) – the car name is a pun: AREG/Areej is an acronym for Alfaisal Renewable Energy Group but also means “the scent of a flowery garden” in Arabic. As far as I know, the team is still at home.
Four-seat 16-kWh cruiser (new car: Tachyon) – they revealed their new car at FSGP. Their average speed at FSGP was 46.3 km/h, compared to 52.8 km/h for Esteban (the leading single-occupant vehicle). This raises some doubts as to whether they can make the WSC on-road target speed of around 75 km/h. As far as I know, the team is still at home.
Previously, CalSol came 15th at FSGP 14; came 7th at FSGP 15; came 9th at ASC 16; won FSGP 17; came 6th at ASC 18; and came 2nd in the FSGP 19 Cruiser class.
Monohull GaAs challenger (new car: Covestro Sonnenwagen) – they have a car-racing game app starring their car. They revealed their car on 22 July (video). They are now in Coober Pedy.
Previously, Aachen participated at WSC 17 and came 3rd at iESC 18. Their team number (70) is the number they raced with in 2017.
Four-seat 20-kWh cruiser (Violet) – they have been testing their car on the track. They are now in Nyngan.
Previously, Sunswift came 3rd in the WSC 13 Cruiser class; came 4th in the WSC 15 Cruiser class; and participated in the WSC 17 Cruiser class.
Monohull challenger (new car: Viridian) – they have a great-looking bullet car this year. They revealed their car on 24 June (video). They are now in Darwin.
Previously, Blue Sky came 8th at WSC 13; came 12th at WSC 15; came 11th at WSC 17; and came 3rd at ASC 16.
80 
Beijing Institute of Technology
Four-seat cruiser (new car: Sun Shuttle III). There has been no word on a car reveal. As far as I know, the team is still at home.
Previously, Beijing came 19th at WSC 13 and came 24th at WSC 15.
82 
Kookmin University Solar Team
Asymmetric challenger (new car: Man-Se) – they revealed their car in a private ceremony on 14 August. As far as I know, the team is still at home.
Previously, KUST came 15th at WSC 13; came 20th at WSC 15; and participated at WSC 17. Their team number (82) is the Korean national telephone prefix.
Left: KUST / Right: KUST
Asymmetric challenger (new car: S10) – they expect the new car to be 44% more efficient than the 2015 model. They revealed their car on 19 July (pic). They are now in Melbourne.
Previously, Solaris participated in the WSC 13 Adventure class; came 25th at WSC 15; came 9th at iESC 16; and came 2nd at Albi Eco 18.
Four-seat cruiser (new team with car: WattSun) – I am not sure how much progress, if any, the company has made on a car (this small company was only registered in May, and appears to occupy co-working space above a shopping mall). There has been no word on a car reveal. In fact, “production is on a halt” – see here. As far as I know, the team is still at home.
public domain photo
Monohull GaAs challenger (new car: Eagle) – once again they have a sleek and elegantly unique design. There is a good discussion with interior pics here. They revealed their car on 27 June (video). As far as I know, the team is still at home.
Previously, Kogakuin came 14th at WSC 13; came 2nd in the WSC 15 Cruiser class; and came 7th at WSC 17. Their team number (88) is multi-faceted (88 is a lucky number in Japanese kanji; 4 wheels looks like 88; and the team garage is in Hachioji city, with ‘hachi’ meaning ‘eight’).
Asymmetric challenger (new car: Sana) – this was formerly the Seraaj team. There has been no word on a car reveal. As far as I know, the team is still at home.
Asymmetric challenger (Éclipse X.1) – they came an excellent 3rd in the ASC, 102 minutes behind Western Sydney, and hope to go even faster with the new battery pack in their modified car. Their improvements are summarised in their winter newsletter. They revealed their car on 10 June (pic). Their car was scheduled to arrive in Melbourne on 7 September. As far as I know, the team is still at home.
Previously, Eclipse came 18th at WSC 13; came 10th at ASC 14; came 8th at ASC 16; came 4th at FSGP 17; and came 3rd at ASC 18.
Two-seat cruiser (new team with car: Priscilla) – their team is a mixture of lecturers and students from five universities across Australia. They tested a model in a wind tunnel. They revealed their car on 17 September. As far as I know, the team is still at home.
This page last updated 17:54 on 18 September 2019 AEST.
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