Western Sydney University's Solar Car team has crossed the finish line placing preliminarily sixth in the world overall, and the number one Australian team in the world's most prestigious solar car challenge.
Successfully traversing 3,000km of rugged outback terrain from Darwin to Adelaide, the team completed the 2025 Bridgestone World Solar Challenge in 37 hours and 39 minutes with their student-designed car, UNLIMITED 6.0, crossing the finish line today.
The Western Sydney Solar Team competed in the Challenger Class for the sixth time, which is the most competitive class requiring teams to produce a high-quality single-seat car built for sustained endurance and energy efficiency.
Team Manager, Ruairi Milligan, a Bachelor of Engineering (Mechatronics) student at Western Sydney University, said he was incredibly proud of the team's performance and thanked all of the team's families, supporters, and partners.
"Our spirit and determination were really on show throughout the challenge and brought us home. This year's solar car, UNLIMITED 6.0, had one of the most ambitious and innovative designs – and this was reflected in our performance this year," he said.
"Together we have built and operated the fastest endurance solar car in Australia, and we are incredibly proud of this achievement."
With support from the School of Engineering, Design and Built Environment, Western Sydney University's Solar Car team this year delivered their most innovative and advanced solar car design yet.
UNLIMITED 6.0 can travel at highway speeds through the Australian Outback powered by the same amount of energy that a home kettle uses.
The vehicle features new design upgrades including a composite front roll hoop that can support the weight of a family car while weighing just under two kilograms, to protect the driver.
The three-wheeled design, with a top speed of 130km/h took two years to design, engineer and manufacture. It can travel 300km using the same amount of energy a Tesla needs to travel 25km.
Team member Isabella Warland said the UNLIMITED 6.0 solar car performed exceptionally well, with this year's results marking a strong improvement on their ninth-place world ranking in 2023.
"It's a grueling and dynamic competition but we were really proud of how UNLIMITED 6.0 performed. I am proud that our team collectively directs their own way forward and the results really cements our car as world-class," she said.
The Western Sydney Solar Car team wishes to acknowledge the support from its major sponsors for 2025, including Abergeldie, Complex Infrastructure, Phoenix Contact, Revolution, Bridgestone, and the Sydney Motor Sport Park powered by the Australian Racing Drivers' Club.
The team is made up of 18 students from the fields of engineering, communications, business, IT, computer, and science. They manage every aspect of the production and design of the vehicle, as well as sponsorship, marketing and the administrative elements of their involvement in international competitions.
