Update: this event has now been cancelled, although some kind of “virtual event” involving registered teams is still on the cards. See here.
It’s still early days, but here is a list of the 35 cars (from 18 countries; 26 Challengers and 9 Cruisers) most likely to attend the Bridgestone World Solar Challenge in October this year (I have included some interesting newcomers). There have been some quite radical rule changes in the Challenger class, and this will make for some interesting design choices this year.
In the Cruiser class, there is continued debate as to how to deal with the tough scoring formula. Also, after building four “solar family cars,” Solar Team Eindhoven have promised something radically different that doesn’t involve Australia, so the Cruiser class is wide open this year!
Of course, Covid-19 still casts a shadow over the event. See this page and this blog tag for my past coverage of the event, and the official race social media at 
(click on the icons).
2 
University of Michigan Solar Car Team 
Challenger (new car) – there is not much news on what they are up to, but this indicates that they plan to participate.
Previously, Michigan came 9th at WSC 13; came 4th at WSC 15; came 2nd at WSC 17; came 3rd at WSC 19; 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.
3 
Vattenfall Solar Team (Delft) 
Challenger (new car: Nuna11) – this year’s attempt to regain the trophy will be the last year that Delft partners with Vattenfall.
Previously, Delft won WSC 13; won WSC 15; won WSC 17; came 12th at WSC 19; won SASOL 14; won SASOL 16; and won SASOL 18. Their team number (3) is a long-standing tradition.
Left: Anthony Dekker / Right: Anthony Dekker (click images to zoom – OLD PICS)
4 
Antakari Solar Team
Challenger (new car: Intikallpa VI) – there is not much news on what they are up to, but this indicates that they plan to participate.
Previously, Antakari participated in the WSC 13 Adventure class; came 10th at WSC 17; and came 7th at WSC 19.
6 Top Dutch Solar Racing
Challenger (new car) – there is not much news on what they are up to, but this indicates that they plan to participate.
Previously, Top Dutch came 4th at WSC 19 and came 3rd at iESC 20.
7 
Adelaide University Solar Racing Team
Challenger (new car: Lumen III) – there is not much news on what they are up to, but this indicates that they plan to participate.
Previously, Adelaide came 21st at WSC 15; participated at WSC 17; and came 16th at WSC 19.
8 
Agoria Solar Team / KU Leuven 
Challenger (new car) – there is not much news on what they are up to, but this indicates that they plan to participate.
Previously, Agoria came 6th at WSC 13; came 5th at WSC 15; came 3rd at WSC 17; won WSC 19; came 3rd at Abu Dhabi 15; came 2nd at iESC 16; came 6th at iESC 18; came 1st and 6th at iESC 20; and won Carrera Solar Atacama 18. Their team number (8) is a long-standing tradition.
Left: Anthony Dekker / Right: Anthony Dekker (click images to zoom – OLD PICS)
10 
Tokai University
Monohull challenger (Tokai Challenger) – they are hoping to attend both the South African event and the WSC.
Previously, Tokai came 2nd at WSC 13; came 3rd at WSC 15; came 4th at WSC 17; came 2nd at WSC 19; came 7th at Abu Dhabi 15; came 2nd at SASOL 16; and came 2nd at SASOL 18.
15 Western Sydney Solar Team
Challenger (new car) – there is not much news on what they are up to, but this indicates that they plan to participate.
Previously, WSU came 11th at WSC 13; came 10th at WSC 15; came 6th at WSC 17; came 20th at WSC 19; and won ASC 18.
Left: Anthony Dekker / Right: Anthony Dekker (click images to zoom – OLD PICS)
16 Stanford Solar Car Project
Challenger (new car) – there is not much news on what they are up to, but this indicates that they plan to participate.
Previously, Stanford came 4th at WSC 13; came 6th at WSC 15; came 9th at WSC 17; and participated at WSC 19.
18 
EcoPhoton Solar Car Team (UiTM)
Challenger (new car) – I am not sure what their plans are, exactly.
Previously, EcoPhoton came 26th at WSC 15; participated at WSC 17; and participated at WSC 19.
21 Solar Team Twente
Challenger (new car) – there is not much news on what they are up to, but this indicates that they plan to participate.
Previously, Twente came 3rd at WSC 13; came 2nd at WSC 15; came 5th at WSC 17; came 17th at WSC 19; won iESC 16; came 1st and 2nd at iESC 18; and came 2nd and 4th at iESC 20. Their team number (21) is a pun and a wish for success in the race (“Twente-One”).
22 
MDH Solar Team
Challenger (new car) – there is not much news on what they are up to, but this indicates that they plan to participate.
Previously, MDH participated at WSC 17 and participated at WSC 19.
23 Halmstad University Solar Team
Challenger (new car) – there is not much news on what they are up to, but this indicates that they plan to participate.
Previously, HUST participated at WSC 19.
30 Team Arrow
Challenger – there is not much news on what they are up to, but this indicates that they plan to participate.
Previously, Arrow came 7th at WSC 13; came 8th at WSC 15; came 3rd in the WSC 17 Cruiser class; participated in the WSC 19 Adventure 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.
35 University of Minnesota Solar Vehicle Project
Four-seat cruiser (new car: Freya I) – they are America’s Cruiser class pioneers. They are building a new car, but raced their old car at WSC 19 (read their race report here). I am not sure if they will attend WSC 21.
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 5th in the WSC 19 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.
41 Australian National University
Three-wheel challenger (new car) – there is not much news on what they are up to, but this indicates that they plan to participate.
Previously, ANU participated at WSC 17 and participated at WSC 19.
45 
Lodz Solar Team
Four-seat cruiser (Eagle Two) – this team has some nice (Polish) news coverage here.
Previously, Lodz participated in the WSC 15 Cruiser class; participated in the WSC 17 Cruiser class; participated in the WSC 19 Cruiser class; came 5th at SASOL 16; and won the iESC 18 Cruiser class. Their team number (45) is a tradition since 2015.
46 JU Solar Team
Challenger (new car) – there is not much news on what they are up to, but this indicates that they plan to participate.
Previously, JU came 20th at WSC 13; came 15th at WSC 15; came 8th at WSC 17; and came 10th at WSC 19. Their team number (46) is the Swedish national telephone prefix.
Left: Anthony Dekker / Right: Anthony Dekker (click images to zoom – OLD PICS)
47 Nagoya Institute of Technology Solar Racing
Challenger (new car) – I am not sure what their plans are, exactly.
Previously, NITech came 16th at WSC 15; came 12th at WSC 17; and came 8th at WSC 19.
51 Chalmers Solar Team
Three-wheel (tadpole) challenger (new car: Sköll) – they were the first Challenger-class team to reveal a render.
Previously, Chalmers came 21st at WSC 19.
70 
Sonnenwagen Aachen
Challenger (new car) – this team did very well in 2019, in spite of being blown off the road.
Previously, Aachen participated at WSC 17; came 6th at WSC 19; came 3rd at iESC 18; and came 5th and 8th at iESC 20. Their team number (70) is the number they raced with in 2017.
75 Sunswift (University of New South Wales)
Cruiser (new car) – there is not much news on what they are up to, but this indicates that they plan to participate.
Previously, Sunswift came 3rd in the WSC 13 Cruiser class; came 4th in the WSC 15 Cruiser class; participated in the WSC 17 Cruiser class; and came 2nd in the WSC 19 Cruiser class.
77 
Blue Sky Solar Racing (Toronto)
Challenger (new car) – there is not much news on what they are up to, but this indicates that they plan to participate.
Previously, Blue Sky came 8th at WSC 13; came 12th at WSC 15; came 11th at WSC 17; came 11th at WSC 19; and came 3rd at ASC 16.
82 
Kookmin University Solar Team
Challenger (new car) – there is not much news on what they are up to, but this indicates that they plan to participate.
Previously, KUST came 15th at WSC 13; came 20th at WSC 15; participated at WSC 17; and came 19th at WSC 19. Their team number (82) is the Korean national telephone prefix.
Left: KUST / Right: KUST (click images to zoom – OLD PICS)
84 
Solar Team Solaris (Dokuz Eylül University)
Asymmetric challenger (S10) – they did some testing before ESC (which they were sadly unable to attend). They have not mentioned building a new car.
Previously, Solaris participated in the WSC 13 Adventure class; came 25th at WSC 15; came 18th at WSC 19; came 9th at iESC 16; came 2nd at Albi Eco 18; and came 2nd at MSRC 19.
88 Kogakuin Solar Team
Challenger (new car) – there is not much news on what they are up to, but this indicates that they plan to participate.
Previously, Kogakuin came 14th at WSC 13; came 2nd in the WSC 15 Cruiser class; came 7th at WSC 17; and came 5th at WSC 19. 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’).
101 Éclipse – Véhicule solaire de l’ÉTS
Asymmetric challenger (Éclipse X.1) – they raced in Australia in 2019 as number 92, finishing 2nd among North American teams. They are favourites to win ASC 2021.
Previously, Eclipse came 18th at WSC 13; came 9th at WSC 19; came 10th at ASC 14; came 8th at ASC 16; came 4th at FSGP 17; and came 3rd at ASC 18.
900 PUT Solar Dynamics (Poznań University of Technology)
Two-seat cruiser (new team with car: Klara) – they were making good progress on construction, although Covid-19 seems to have slowed this down. This (Polish) video describes their project.
910 
Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México SRT (Hyadi)
Two-seat cruiser (new team with car: Quetzál) – this new team from Mexico are planning to build a great-looking Cruiser.
920 
Solaride
Two-seat cruiser (new team) – this new team from Estonia hopes to build a Cruiser.
932 
Solar Electric Vehicle – Cairo University Team
Two-seat cruiser (new team with car: Horus) – this team has been building a Cruiser for quite some time, but is finally ready to fly.
940 EMUAI
Challenger (new car) – this team from UAI (Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez) previously won the two-seater hybrid category of the 2018 Carrera Solar Atacama. Their team logo is an Australian emu, so they should do well in the Australian Outback.
950 
Orion Solar Car
Three-wheel (tadpole) challenger (new team) – they have posted a timeline for construction.
960 Deakin University / ACCIONA (Ascend)
Two-seat cruiser (new team with car: Ascend) – they are developing a dash display.
970 
University of Canterbury Solar Team
Cruiser (new team) – this team from New Zealand was building a Cruiser, but they have posted nothing in the last 12 months.
public domain photo
This page last updated 16:53 on 12 February 2021 AEDT.
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There is more up-to-date news on the American event, the European events, and the new Australian event, with more to come on the virtual event later.