The lopsided solar car named Generation, unveiled today,
might be the oddest-looking vehicle the top-ranked University of Michigan team
has ever built. But the bold shape is a calculated effort to design the most
efficient car possible, given major changes in World Solar Challenge race
rules.
The World Solar Challenge is an 1,800-mile, week-long
endurance contest across the continent of Australia that takes place every
other fall. The U-M team has come in third place five times, most recently in
2011. The reigning national champions are hoping that Generation can carry them
to their first world race victory this October.