Alternative Fuel Vehicles Showcased at Florida Tech

MELBOURNE, FLA. — Clean alternative fuel vehicles from across the state will start arriving at Florida Institute of Tech about 2 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 7.

They will be competing in the SunDay Challenge road rally which starts at the Florida Solar Energy Center (FSEC) in Cocoa at 1 p.m. and ends at Florida
Tech’s Panther Plaza in Melbourne. The vehicles will travel south on U.S. 1 to U.S. 192 in Melbourne, then Babcock Street to Florida Tech for a distance of
more than 30 miles.

The road rally showcases automotive solutions to transportation, energy and air quality problems. The alternatively fueled vehicles in the road rally don’t
use gasoline or petro-diesel. They are approved for highway use and are evaluated on vehicle handling, acceleration, performance, and range activities on a
set road course.

Florida Tech’s Sunrayce Sunshine Special solar car will be on exhibit at Panther Plaza Oct. 7, along with the Racing Electric Vehicle, a hybrid boat, and
the electric boat, Toot. Florida Tech’s solar car competed in the 1999 Sunrayce from Epcot to General Motors’ Warren, Mich., plant.

Frank Leslie, Florida Tech, will be one of the presenters during the three-day SunDay Challenge at FSEC. He will talk about Sunrayce at an electric drive
and hybrid vehicle workshop Monday, Oct. 8. Registration for the daylong workshop is 9-10 a.m. at FSEC, 1679 Clearlake Road, Cocoa. Testing and autocross
is Saturday, Oct. 6, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. at the same location.

The event is free for spectators. There is a $20 fee to participate in the road rally. Eligible alternative fuel vehicles include electric, natural gas,
propane, ethanol, methanol, bio-diesel, bio-mass, hydrogen and solar. Awards and judges’ recognition will be presented to the event winners of each class
and each activity.

The SunDay Challenge was created by FSEC in 1991 to promote the use of clean alternative energy transportation technology. The event is an annual
educational automotive activity to showcase and demonstrate the latest in alternative fuels technology.
Event sponsors include Florida Tech, FSEC, University of Central Florida, Brevard Community College, Florida Electric Auto Association, and Space Coast
Clean Cities Coalition.

For more information, contact Leslie at 321-674-7377 or fleslie@fit.edu or Bill Young at 321-638-1443 or young@fsec.ucf.edu.