CalSol is the UC Berkeley solar vehicle team, a completely student-run organization. We have recently finished construction of the car Gold Rush, which we raced in the Formula Sun Grand Prix.

Rayces and Awards

A Brief History of Calsol

It's no secret that the developed world uses a lot of gasoline to power their cars, with adverse environmental effects. To encourage the development of alternative fuel vehicles, the first solar car race began in 1987 in Australia to encourage worldwide research and development on the possibilities of solar powered cars.

UC Berkeley students entered this picture in 1990, by forming CalSol and building their first solar powered car, California Dreamin'. California Dreamin' successfully completed SunRayce '93, a cross-country race from Texas to Minnesota. The car also ran in the Clean Air Road Rally, a 90 mile race across Southern California, and the 1995 Suzuka Solar Car Race in Japan.

Due to funding issues, in 1996, CalSol formed a partnership with cross-bay rivals, the Stanford Solar Car Project (SSCP). The collaboration between the two universities allowed Team California to win third place in Sunrayce '97 with its redesigned solar car, the Afterburner II.

But by 1999, both CalSol and SCCP decided to split and pursue independent goals. The split accompanied by graduations left CalSol with no money or experienced members. Despite working with a minimal budget, CalSol's Solar Bear took first place in Stock Class in the Formula Sun Grand Prix 2003 and second place in Stock Class in the American Solar Challenge 2003.

Armed with the lessons learned from Solar Bear, CalSol went back to the drawing board and designed a completely new car. The Beam Machine went on to take third in stock class in the Formula Sun Grand Prix 2005 and second place in stock class in the North American Solar Challenge 2005.

Drawing from the experiences and lessons learned from Solar Bear and the Beam Machine, CalSol again rethought the solar car from the ground up with the focus of vehicle efficiency. In 2009 the car Gold Rush competed in the Formula Sun Grand Prix. With your help, our car will race in the future events and again raise the bar on innovation in vehicles powered by renewable energy.