A Penske tractor is the truck of choice for the University of Michigan Solar Car team. The UM Wolverines, of the famous Maize and Blue, are based in Ann Arbor, Mich. Students prepared for the World Solar Challenge (a five-day race across the Australian Outback to be held in October) by conducting a U.S. mock race through the Midwest, about which there is a great pictorial-and-text account at the team’s site.
The Wolverines captured their fifth North American Championship last summer, and will be seeking their first world title in Australia. The tenth-generation electric-motor solar car weighs 475 pounds, is 16.4 ft. long and 5.9 ft. wide, powered by the sun, and reaches a top speed of 87 mph.
