Sunraycer was the first electric vehicle to complete the World Solar Challenge in Australia.
General Motors’ Sunraycer won the inaugural World Solar Challenge in 1987, a solar-powered race from Darwin to Adelaide. The vehicle was designed with support from AeroVironment and used photovoltaic cells to convert sunlight into electricity. Its success demonstrated that aerodynamic design, low mass, efficient motors, and careful energy management could move a vehicle across a continent using solar power.
Sunraycer was not a conventional road car. It was a purpose-built experimental racer with a narrow body and a very small frontal area, optimized for efficiency rather than passenger comfort or everyday practicality. The event helped inspire later solar-racing engineering and contributed to the development of technology used in GM’s EV1 program.
The race is now known as the Bridgestone World Solar Challenge. Its classes have changed over time, so modern entrants and rules are not directly identical to those of the 1987 event.