Lighter design

Nuna 8 is about thirty kilograms lighter than Nuna 7. This is not only due to using a different material for the structure, but even the bolts were carefully chosen to make the car as lightweight as possible.

Stability with aerodynamics

The shape of Nuna 8's wing profiles was adjusted. This resulted in a different pressure distribution that improved the car's road grip. Additionally, the panel of Nuna 8 was positioned eleven centimeters lower than Nuna 7, further enhancing stability.

Spare parts come in handy

Spare parts are always taken to the race. When the Delft team learned that another team couldn't participate due to a damaged stator, the Delft students gifted their spare stator to the other team. This allowed the other team to join the race after a year of hard work!

Nuna 7S

Nuna 8S

Nuna 8

Nuna 8 had to make a grand comeback during the race. In the qualification, they ended up in the eighteenth place, resulting in a poor starting position.

The underperformance of the solar car during the qualification was expected because solar cars are designed for efficiently covering long distances rather than speeding around a short circuit. This presented an additional challenge as they had to overtake many teams during the race.

It was the most thrilling race ever. On the third day, the Delft team was only eleven seconds behind the first place. On the fourth day, this difference increased to 38 seconds. On the fifth day, the team made a comeback, but there was still uncertainty about whether there would be enough energy left in the battery to even finish the race. It was all or nothing. The student team crossed the finish line in Adelaide for the sixth time, with the smallest time difference ever on the runner-up, just eight minutes!

After winning the world championship in Australia, Nuna 8 participated in another race in Egypt. The goal was to cover as many kilometers as possible in four days. Many former team members joined, including someone who had driven Nuna ten years ago. They also brought along a few Egyptian students to showcase the complexities of a major race.

Additionally, Nuna 8 set a world record by covering 882 kilometers within twelve hours.