After months of fundraising and fine-tuning, a group of South Plantation High School students hopes a solar-powered vehicle wins big in a national competition.

BY LAURA FIGUEROA
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There's something about hailing from a place known as the Sunshine State that makes winning a solar-powered car race much less about bragging rights as claiming what seems rightfully yours.

''It's time for the Sunshine State to take home the gold. It only seems natural,'' Vincent Mariano, 17, said as he looked over the flat board of black panels that fueled the vehicle known as the Solar Knight II.

Handcrafted by a group of students from South Plantation High School, the Solar Knight II is bound for the Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth to compete in the national Dell-Winston Solar Car Challenge on July 7.

This is the third year the school's Solar Knights Racing Team has participated in the competition, which draws entries from New York to Nevada. Last year the team placed third in the nation, besting teams that have competed longer and have had more time to fine tune their vehicles.

It was a great accomplishment, boasted teacher and Solar Knights advisor Allan Phipps, but still not enough for the competitive bunch.

So for the past six months, the students have been toiling after school to make their vehicle as sleek and light as possible. They shed 50 pounds from the car, which now weighs in at 650 pounds and travels up to 48 miles per hour.

''We're seeing huge steps in progress of solar energy use and they are getting to experience it first hand,'' said Phipps who has scoured junkyards and Craigslist in search of unconventional car parts.

While the program encourages students to take a closer look at careers in the sciences, Phipps said his students have also used the experience to pick up other skills.

Students hone their writing skills putting out newsletters and press releases about their progress as a team. And like any auto executive these days, they learn lessons on finance -- the students solicit donations to help pay for the cost of car parts and competition fees.

The car took more than $30,000 to build, and in order for all the team members to travel to the Texas competition the students had to raise over $10,000.

For the past three years Fort Lauderdale-based Advanced Green Technologies and Florida Power & Light have teamed up to give financial support and educational training to the students.

''Who knows, these students could be onto something and be the next Wright Brothers,'' said Rob Kornahrens, chairman of Advanced Green Technologies, which specializes in the installation of solar-energy roof panels.

Tuesday afternoon, under a not-so-sunny sky, students took turns doing practice runs in the car. Dr. Lehman Marks, coordinator for the Texas race, said he thinks Florida's sole team stands a good chance in the race.

''Each year they have gotten better,'' Marks said in a phone interview. ``The kids have gotten more savvy, I really expect them to do extremely well.''

Courtesy: Miami Herald