Dutch solar car team Nuon Solar have taken out the 2015 World Solar Challenge in style, clinching a tight victory under a beating sun in Adelaide's CBD.
The team revelled in their second challenge win in a row at the finish line in Victoria Square, popping champagne corks and chanting arm-in-arm around their high-tech racer.
Nuon narrowly beat fellow Dutch crew Solar Team Twente, who were only minutes behind in their 3000-kilometre journey through the desert from Darwin to Adelaide.
"The drive was intense - the margins have never been closer," Nuon driver Tim Van Leeuwen said after the race.
Van Leeuwen was drenched in sweat as he stepped out of the cramped cabin of the sleek, silent car.
He said the mercury reached 50C at times in the driver's seat.
"There's no windows and there's no air-conditioner - so we take plenty of water in with us."
Van Leeuwen was one of three team drivers who rotated every three hours.
He said the high-speed event illustrated the potential of solar power in transportation.
"We've just driven right across the Australian outback at an average of 90km/h," he said.
"It's incredibly exciting."
Twenty-nine high-tech vehicles from 17 countries have been racing in the challenge since Sunday, powered only by the sun.
Three Australian teams competed, including Clenergy Team Arrow, and teams from Western Sydney University and the University of Adelaide.
