Punch One
Perfecting Performance
The Punch One is the sixth Belgian solar car and was built in 2014 to 2016. The car was constructed for the Bridgestone World Solar Challenge of 2015 where it finished fifth. In september of 2018, the Punch One took part in the iLumen European Solar Challenge, where it finished eighth after a collision with a solar car that was stopped on the race track.
SPECIFICATIONS
WIDTH | 180 cm |
LENGTH | 450 cm |
HEIGHT | 95 cm |
AMOUNT OF WHEELS | 4 |
SOLAR CELLS | 6 m² of silicon cells |
BODY | Carbon Fiber |
CATAMARAN
The Punch One was the first catamaran-shaped solar car by the Belgian Solar Team. By placing the pilot on the side of the car, the frontal surface area was decreased drastically, allowing a great increase in efficiency of the solar car.
CLOSE CONTACT
During the 2018 iLumen European Solar Challenge, the Punch One had a heads on collision with a solar car that was stationary on the track. The conditions were difficult: heavy rain in the middle of the night, and the solar car had issues with its electronics and so no headlights. After the initial shock of the team and the driver, the car was temporarily fixed with tools were available on the spot, which happened to include ductape - an engineer's favourite. The car was later repaired and restored to its original state.