LAKELAND, Fla. — The engineering students at Florida Polytechnic don’t feel the need for speed.

They pine for sunshine.

It’s only fitting that a car built in the Sunshine State will be competing for top solar honors. For the first time, this Polk County university will be competing in the national collegiate Formula Sun Grand Prix.

In solar car racing, the goal isn’t to be the fastest. It’s all about endurance and who can complete the most laps in a car solely powered by the sun.

“This is engineers, geeks version of football,” said Dr. Matt Bohm, a mechanical engineering professor. “This is our sport. And we’re taking it to race against 33 other colleges and universities.”

This has been years in the making for the Phoenix Racing team. The process began in the spring of 2022. The original prototype, one the team affectionately calls the Ugly Duckling, was basically a go cart surrounded by solar panels. Fast forward two years later, and this is the end product, the  Spark Mark I. These solar cells that line the entire body of the car can power it for up to five hours.

“We spent a semester designing, another semester designing and we will built our prototype,” said Phoenix Racing Team President Spencer Blackwell. “And then this year, all hands on deck to build this one.”

The littlest of details matter. Kinks have to be worked out. Plans change. This is a much different car than the one they originally drew up.

“They learn engineering in the classroom and it’s great to do a project on paper,” Dr. Bohm said. “But this is something they actually have to apply.”

Florida Poly is putting their best up against 33 other universities. Just like in sports, there are GOATS in engineering. MIT, Purdue, Stanford and Michigan will all be there. And making its debut, the Phoenix Racing team.

“There’s definitely things that we can improve, that we can do better,” Spencer said. “And that’s kind of in our plan for this year is what we can improve. But for now, I’m pretty proud of what we’ve done.”