Appalachian State University's solar racing team placed first in the American Solar Challenge multi-passenger vehicle class over the weekend — marking its second first-place finish in program history.
The team drove roughly 1,800 miles in a weeklong, cross-country race, starting in Minnesota and ending in Amarillo, Texas.
Sunergy was graded on three criteria: distance, optimization and practicality. The team scored a total of 92.7 out of 100 points across the categories — proving to be the most energy-efficient car in the process.
That efficiency was powered by Sunergy's brand-new vehicle, called Autumn, which was awarded the MOV Practicality Award, meaning it's the most comparable to a standard production car. The team said they'd been designing and testing Autumn for five years.
Now, half a decade later, the team becomes the first in American Solar Challenge history to win the multi-passenger class twice.