When Calypso, the third-generation Illini Solar Car, crossed the finish line at the 2025 Electrek Formula Sun Grand Prix (FSGP) in July, its team had two reasons to celebrate: they had secured their first win, and they had beaten the lap record in the single-occupant vehicle class. Over the course of three days, Calypso was driven for 223 laps to win first place in the competition at the NCM Motorsports Park in Bowling Green, Kentucky.
Written by Heather Coit
When Calypso, the third-generation Illini Solar Car, crossed the finish line at the 2025 Electrek Formula Sun Grand Prix (FSGP) in July, its team had two reasons to celebrate: they had secured their first win, and they had beaten the lap record in the single-occupant vehicle class. Over the course of three days, Calypso was driven for 223 laps to win first place in the competition at the NCM Motorsports Park in Bowling Green, Kentucky.
Photo Credit: Cora Kennedy/American Solar Challenge
The Illini Solar Car team won the 2025 Formula Sun Grand Prix single-occupant vehicle category with their car, Calypso, at the NCM Motorsports Park Track in July 2025.
The recent victory is a testament to the longstanding perseverance and commitment of generations of Illini Solar Car teams. The original team was formed by a small group of Illinois Grainger Engineering students in 2014; today, the team has grown to include over 350 students representing over 20 majors from across the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign campus. Leadership opportunities are plentiful as students can serve as team leads and direct areas like operations, finance, new member outreach, alumni relations and more. Designated leads also oversee sub-teams to focus on business and marketing, electrical, mechanical, strategy and telemetry areas.
The recent success of Calypso was built on the efforts of a succession of prior teams, who improved each generation of car based on trial and error and dedication to hard work. The Illini Solar Car president, Matthew Adler, also gives credit to the continued support the project has received from the Student Sustainability Committee (SSC) and the team’s alumni.
“SSC is a massive supporter of not just our team but for sustainability across Illinois projects,” Adler said. “And our alumni helped us build an incredible base of knowledge and experience over the course of three cars.”
Argo, the first-generation Illini Solar Car, raced in the 2017 Bridgestone World Solar Challenge in Australia and at the 2018 American Solar Challenge. When Brizo, the second-generation car, made its debut at the 2021 American Solar Challenge, it featured a sleeker, more efficient design in place of the catamaran style of its predecessor. The team has continued its ascent with Calypso.
The Illini Solar Car team, bolstered by new recruits, is now hard at work designing a fourth car, currently code-named Project D. The goal is to build an even better car as the team prepares for next year’s American Solar Challenge race and beyond.
Photo Credit: Cora Kennedy/American Solar Challenge
The Illini Solar Car team won the 2025 Formula Sun Grand Prix single-occupant vehicle category with their car, Calypso, at the NCM Motorsports Park Track in July 2025.