Gentlemen, start your solar panels. The hottest race of the year got under way last week as 17 sci-fi bubble cars powered silently over the start line on the first leg of a 2,400-mile route across America using nothing but the sun’s rays to fuel them.

Clad with solar panels, the vehicles - with names such as the Raycer (geddit?), Midnight Sun and Eclipse - are no longer than a supermini and no higher than the wheel rims of the American juggernauts that thunder past on the outside lane. Inside each contraption is a single driver, wearing shorts and T-shirt, sweating it out behind the controls as they try desperately to soak up every last ray of sun. And this year, the world’s most gruelling solar race features a team from Britain trying to outshine the competition from Germany, Canada and the United States.

In the best British tradition, the hopefuls from Durham University have entered the race on a shoestring and are running it with even less.

“I guess you could call it a low -budget entry,” says David Sims-Williams, the team’s technical adviser. “It is a bit David and Goliath, and our team is definitely in the role of David.”

Because of the cost of transporting many of the more fragile parts, members of the team packed bits of the car in their baggage for their flight to America. “Airport security must have wondered what we were up to with all these tools and bits of solar panels in our luggage.”

Many of the teams competing have budgets well into the millions of dollars; the boys from Durham have had to pay their own air fares and built the car from scratch in their spare time at university for about £100,000. And while most of their opponents have fleets of support vehicles, including one team with an HGV packed with a bank of computers, the British entry is escorted by two hire cars with toolkits in the boot. “The other teams have been very friendly and allowed us to beg and borrow spares,” says Sims-Williams.

The race, officially called the North American Solar Challenge, began last Sunday on a highway just outside Dallas, Texas, and is due to finish on Tuesday in Calgary, Canada. Along the way, the teams will travel through Kansas, Nebraska and South and North Dakota. The aim is to encourage students to think beyond current technology and produce cars that are both environmentally friendly and practical to drive. However, just because they are students doesn’t mean the cars are amateur: in 2005 – the race is run every two years, although there was an hiatus in 2007 - the winning car averaged just over 46mph.

As petrol prices move inexorably upwards, this year’s race has attracted more and more attention. Some of the big car makers look to be getting in on the idea too. Earlier this month a Japanese newspaper reported that next year’s Toyota Prius will boast even more fuel efficiency, thanks to a set of solar panels on the roof. The panels will not power the car, but will instead fuel the air-conditioning and other battery-draining accessories inside the cabin.

Toyota won’t comment, but if it does go ahead it won’t be the first car maker to try to harness the power of the sun. More than a decade ago Mazda souped up the American version of its 929 saloon with solar cells embedded into the sunroof. The optional feature powered small fans that ventilated the car while it was parked in the sun.

Harnessing solar energy for ventilation is one thing, but using it for forward motion is another. In order to get the most out of a panel it must be able to be angled to absorb as much light as possible. And of course there are only so many panels you can fit on a car.

None of this seems to bother the Durham team. “Amid all the doom and gloom about energy prices, oil running out and CO2 [emissions], we are a show-case for new types of technology that could one day find their way into everyday cars,” says Sims-Williams. “Obviously they won’t look like these racers, but parts of them could have other uses. For example, we have developed an electric drive system that could find application in hybrid or plug-in electric cars in 10 or 15 years’ time.”

The three-wheel car - named Dusc (Durham University Solar Car) - is covered in nine square metres of solar cells, which feed a lead-acid battery that powers an electric motor located in the rear wheel. There are no gears, and because torque is instantaneous once the throttle is depressed, acceleration is rapid. The car has a top speed of 62mph.

The battery can store 5kWh of power at any one time - the equivalent of four conventional car batteries - and the vehicle is able to travel for between two and five hours, depending on speed. While on the road it is continually being recharged by the sun and by the regenerative braking system that captures energy shed while braking or when the car is freewheeling downhill. The team claims that even in Britain the battery will be able to absorb enough solar energy to charge fully in about nine hours.

However, don’t expect to see the car on the road any time soon. It looks weird (the team was asked by a passing cowboy whether the machine it was hauling out of its transporter was a new type of speedboat) and in terms of practicality it is far from ideal. “It is a bit cramped,” says Oriel Woods, 21, one of the two drivers who have been piloting the car, “and it gets very hot inside - but that is a good thing because it means we are gaining power. The only time you really notice it is when the car is stationary and there is no through-draught.

“We are just happy to be on the road. One team from Missouri during testing were driving pretty fast on the test track when the wind got under the solar canopy and lifted it off. The whole thing flew 40ft in the air before crashing down.”

Dusc has suffered a few teething troubles of its own, notably a fault with one of the safety switches that automatically disables the vehicle if it can’t detect a driver in the seat. “It seems to think there is no one in it when there is,” says Wood, “so the car kept stopping for no reason. But we managed to sort it out and now she is driving well.”

The goal of becoming the first British team to triumph looks slim, however. Dusc started well, qualifying in 12th place out of 17 teams, but by the end of the first day it had been forced into running repairs, which competition regulations say means it will be allowed to finish the race but not win it.

At the time of going to press, the team was in South Dakota - and upbeat and philosophical. Brits know that it’s the taking part, not the winning that matters. “The real achievement is going to be finishing,” says Sims-Williams. “If we drive into Calgary on the 22nd it will be victory enough.”

The Brits and the big boys

TeamDurham University
Name of carDusc08
FormThe team is a newcomer to solar racing and the NASC is the first competitive event it has taken part in. The car has a top speed of 62mph and can run for up to five hours on battery power - even without sunshine.

TeamMichigan University
Name of carContinuum
FormWon the NASC race in 2005 with an average speed of just over 46mph. It came seventh during the World Solar Challenge held in Australia last year, though would have done better had a crash involving a rival American team not caused it to lose 10 hours to repairs. It is currently leading this year’s race and is one of the best-funded vehicles, with a budget of $2.4m.

TeamPrincipia, Missouri
Name of carRa 7
FormThe name refers to the Egyptian sun god and the team finished seventh in 2005. Principia is one of the most spiritual teams: the college caters for Christian Scientists.

TeamMinnesota University
Name of carCentaurus
FormThe team motto is “Fuelled by the sun, powered by the mind,” and its car is one of the fastest, capable of 80mph. Last week it was in third place.

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