Sakura
Our 2026 car, #86. The top American team in the SOV class and 4th overall at the 2026 American Solar Challenge.
Our first all-new design.
Sakura is named for the cherry blossoms on the UW campus. A rule change that raised the allowed solar array area from 4 m² to 6 m² meant starting from a blank sheet, and the result was a three-wheeled, bullet-shaped body carrying 386 cells over a carbon-fiber sandwich chassis. Across the Formula Sun Grand Prix and the American Solar Challenge, it drove more than 2,500 miles without a major failure.
- Solar Array
- 386 cells386 Maxeon cells across 6 m², assembled by students, peaking at 1,540 W. The array tilts so the team can angle it toward the sun while the car charges.
- Battery
- 5.25 kWhA lithium-ion pack of about 50 lb, built from Samsung 45T cells.
- Motor
- 5 kWA Mitsuba hub motor rated at 2 kW and peaking at 5 kW, driven by a KLS 8080N controller. Highway capable at 75 mph.
- Body
- 3 wheelsA three-wheeled bullet body developed over multiple CFD iterations, on a carbon sandwich panel chassis with a steel roll cage.
- Weight
- 460 lbTotal vehicle mass, without a driver.
Full specification
Open a system to see its numbers.
Solar Array
- Cells
- 386 Maxeon
- Array area
- 6 m²
- Peak power
- 1,540 W
- Strings / MPPTs
- 4 / 4
- Array
- Tiltable
Battery & Electrical
- Chemistry
- Lithium ion
- Capacity
- 5.25 kWh
- Pack mass
- ~50 lb
- BMS
- Custom, designed in house
- Low-voltage system
- Fully custom, designed in house
Motor & Drivetrain
- Motor
- Mitsuba hub motor
- Rated power
- 2 kW
- Peak power
- 5 kW
- Controller
- KLS 8080N
Aerodynamics & Body
- Wheels
- 3
- Body
- Carbon bullet aeroshell
- Chassis
- Carbon sandwich panel
- Safety structure
- Steel roll cage
Mass & Dimensions
- Mass
- 460 lb
- Length
- 5.7 m
- Width
- 1.5 m
- Height
- 0.9 m
Suspension & Brakes
- Front
- Double wishbone
- Rear
- Swing arm
- Brakes
- Regenerative, hydraulic for redundancy
- Tires
- Bridgestone Enliten
Performance
- Top speed
- 75 mph, highway capable
- Race average
- 30 mph across both competitions
- Range, battery only
- 178 miles
- Range, clear day
- 466 miles
- Efficiency
- 29.8 miles per kWh
Every system, designed by students.
Design starts in October and freezes in December. The rolling chassis is complete by February, parts arrive through June, and final assembly takes about a month.
- Build hours
- 7,000
- To build the car
- $120,000
- Month to final assembly
- ~1
The largest line items are the aeroshell, the solar array and the battery cells.
Every circuit board on the car is student-designed: high-voltage power distribution, telemetry, driver interface, drivetrain control, lights and the steering wheel.
- Software
- SolidWorks, KiCad, Saturn PCB, Kenesto
- Facilities
- UW Mechanical Shop, UW composites shop
Sockeye
2025 Formula Sun Grand Prix · 6th in SOV class · Rookie of the Year
Sockeye raced the 2025 Formula Sun Grand Prix, finishing 6th in the Single-Occupant Vehicle class and winning Rookie of the Year in the team's first competition. Sakura carries a similar chassis design forward; the suspension, aeroshell, electrical system and solar array are all new.
Help us build the next one.
For the next car, we are rebuilding the electrical system from the ground up to improve efficiency, motor performance and control, and raising the standard of build quality across the car. That work needs funding, components and materials.