The solar car project is revving up with just days left on the major Flinders Automotive Solar Team (FAST) crowdfunding campaign.

The community’s support is vital for the team to enter the Bridgestone World Solar Challenge in October, says the team’s leader Dr Stuart Wildy.

“There’s not long to go, and the crowdfunding is a vital part of our campaign,” he says.

“We have now finished prototyping the electrical and electronic systems of the solar car in ‘Investigator Mini’, the golf cart which we are using as a testbed,” Dr Wildy says.

“Our next step is to install the electrical and electronics systems into the solar car, followed by the fabrication, body work and solar array.”

Road tests on the Investigator Mark III passenger vehicle will start by mid-August.

The student team will head for Darwin in September ahead of the 3,000km road trip from Darwin to Adelaide (8-15 October).

See the vehicle take shape on the FAST website and on social media at Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Every second year, teams from around the world come to participate in the different classes of the event.

Flinders is entering the Cruiser class – designing a car that is an efficient and practical family car that anyone could drive.

The FAST car is striving to add special new technology and features to the future of sustainable road transport.

The Investigator Mark III vehicle extends a long history of electric car making at Flinders, with the first built in 1972 by engineering students at Bedford Park.

Bridgestone Australia and New Zealand Managing Director Andrew Moffatt says the solar event is “all about finding real and sustainable transport solutions”.

“We believe it’s our responsibility to do what we can to create a bright and sustainable future for generations to come – and the Bridgestone World Solar Challenge is very well aligned with that philosophy,” Mr Moffatt says.

“It attracts some of the world’s brightest young minds and we’re excited to be involved because we know first-hand what can be achieved … ”