Our team builds engineers.
Through late nights, early mornings, and iteration after iteration, we don’t just show the country that we can build a car powered entirely by sunlight — we prove to ourselves that we can take a crazy idea and make it real.
And for the first time in eight years, we’re starting over.
This year, we are designing and building an entirely new vehicle on an ambitious timeline. We aren’t just reimagining our solar car — we’re reimagining what our team is capable of. With every component we design and manufacture, we’re growing together and discovering what real problem-solving looks like outside the classroom.
Last year was our year to prove Solar Car was back.
Like any student-led team, new members need time to find their footing. When our group stepped in, we had to diagnose issues, rebuild our understanding, and experiment relentlessly just to understand where the car stood. After restoring our current car, the Independence, we returned to the national stage at the Formula Sun Grand Prix, placing 12th out of 36 teams.
That moment proved something important — to the design center, to Missouri S&T, and most importantly, to ourselves — we were back.
Now, we’re building forward.
As one of Missouri S&T’s oldest design teams, we have a legacy to uphold. Our team helped put the Rolla design center on the map. This year, we aim to add to that legacy and make our alumni, our university, and our community proud.
But we can’t do it alone.
Your support takes our solar car from Rolla, Missouri, to Brainerd International Raceway in Minnesota. At competition, we’re not just testing a vehicle — we’re testing teamwork, resilience, and our ability to solve problems that don’t have solutions printed in a textbook.
With your help, we will proudly represent Missouri S&T and compete against the top schools in the country.
How Your Support Helps:
- Buy a meal for the team: $65
- Buy a hotel room for two team members: $185
- Fuel costs (support vehicles): $3,825
- Registration fee: $1,900
- Track fee: $4,150
If early support allows us to build momentum, we may stretch beyond our initial goal of $4,000 to cover more of our remaining needs. You can make a big difference not only by donating, but also by sharing this campaign with others who may be interested in being a part of our journey.
All donations are tax-deductible. Sponsors receive team updates and an email receipt for tax records.
Thank you for giving us the power to Chase the Sun!
With your help and support, we raised $6,190! Over $2,000 more than our original goal! Thank you so much for this vote of confidence and for helping us get to our 2026 competition.
Thank you for being a part of where we're going next, and for giving us the power to chase the sun!
The picture above was taken by Cora Kennedy. She has been a strong supporter of our team and its endeavors, and she is a very talented freelance photographer. Here are links to her socials/website to take a look at her work!
Website: Cora Kennedy
Instagram & X accounts can be accessed through her website
We have hit our crowdfunding goal of $6,000! Thank you all so much for making this possible! The campaign is still open until Monday at midnight, if you are still interested in supporting our team or know others who would be willing to donate. To celebrate hitting our extended goal of $6,000, here is a recent update from our team:
Today, a few representatives of our team traveled with other design teams from the Missouri S&T Student Design Center to visit the St. Louis Science Center for SciFest 2026! We had the opportunity to tell younger students and children from the St. Louis community about what our team builds, accomplishes, and the problems we have overcome along the way. This was an awesome opportunity to spend time with other teams from S&T as well as educate and hopefully inspire the next generation of engineers and innovators.
97 days ago by Dylan EllisWith our crowdfunding campaign closing in less than a week, we wanted to show some of the progress the team has made recently on our new car!
Our mechanical subteam has been focused on the fabrication of our new frame! It is a much different design and configuration compared to the previous solar cars produced by our team. We opted for a chromoly steel construction this year due to our advanced timeline, and we thought we could build it faster and lighter than a carbon fiber frame of years prior. We hope to share more updates regarding the fabrication of our new car with you all soon!
With your help, we already reached and surpassed our initial $4,000 goal! To keep the momentum going, we have decided to increase our goal to $6,000 to cover more of our competition-related expenses. Thank you so much for this vote of confidence, and for helping support our team!
105 days ago by Dylan EllisWe are incredibly grateful for the amazing support you all have shown in just the first day of our campaign! At just over 24 hours, we are sitting at 74% of our crowdfunding goal! Thank you all for the amazing support so far. To celebrate, here are some pictures from our competition in the Formula Sun Grand Prix last year.
This is our car from last year, the Independence. We took the Independence to FSGP and placed 12th out of 36 teams after rebuilding and restoring the car.
For the first time in several years, Missouri S&T Solar Car was back! We showed the university, our supporters, and ourselves that we would find a way to get this car back on the track. And, that is exactly what we did.
Your support helps create more moments like this, and it will help us showcase our new car at the upcoming Formula Sun Grand Prix this summer.
THANK YOU!
The pictures above were taken by Cora Kennedy. She has been a strong supporter of our team and its endeavors, and she is a very talented freelance photographer. Here are links to her socials/website to take a look at her work!
Website: Cora Kennedy
Instagram & X accounts can be accessed through her website
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