Polytechnique Montreal students build solar car, win 2 U.S. races [Video]

It’s been a good summer for a group of Polytechnique Montreal students.

Their newly built solar-powered car called Esteban 11 won two races in the US.

The team won the Formula Sun Gran Prix and the American Solar Challenge. They beat out other top notch engineering programs like MIT and Georgia Tech.

The car is a product of two-and-a-half years of hard work.

“As a team, we probably put in at least 100 hours a week,” said Polytechnique student Laure Jalbert-Drouin.

The Esteban 11 is not the quietest ride, but it is likely the most efficient. It’s a two-seater and has five square metres of solar panels. It also had a battery that can last up to 700 kilometres.

“As we drive, it charges. If we go to, like, 45 km/hour, 50 km/hour, and we have really good solar energy, we could drive infinitely,” said student Marie Rouillard.

Esteban 11 …