Spirit of Biel/Bienne II: Top fit in car construction
WHERE YOU MEET The spirit of 1990, when the Spirit of Biel/Bienne II solar car from the Biel School of Engineering won the World Solar Challenge in Australia, can be felt again in the Autobau Erlebniswelt in Romanshorn.
The team, led by the then director of the Ecole d'Ingénieurs de Bienne, Fredy Sidler, together with the founders of the carmaker, father and son Lienhard, inaugurated the new location of the winning car in a custom-made, energy-autonomous glass container in front of the entrance.
Courage of the players involved
Background: Through a former schoolmate, Fredy Lienhard (center left in the gallery), founder of Autobau Erlebniswelt, came into contact with those responsible for the Biel Engineering School. It was important to the entrepreneur from eastern Switzerland to pay tribute to the pioneering work of the engineering school and the courage of the players involved. As a thank you for sponsoring the Bern Racing Team (BRT), he was allowed to exhibit the Spirit of Biel/Bienne II, before the solar car was donated to the Autobau Erlebniswelt in 2022. As a result, his son Fredy Alexander Lienhard restored the vehicle together with a professor and students from the engineering school.
Victory in the second race
Retrospect: On November 11, 1990, the Biel School of Engineering took part in the World Solar Challenge in Australia for the second time with its solar mobile. Powered by electricity from its own solar panels, the Spirit of Biel/Bienne II covered the more than 3000 kilometers from Darwin to Adelaide at an average speed of 65 km/h in just 46 hours.
After the team from the Biel School of Engineering had to give way to the industrial giants GM and Ford in the first staging, it won the second race in 1990 to everyone's surprise. The favored Honda team arrived at the finish line only one day later.
Exhibition in Romanshorn
After restoration by Fredy Alexander Lienhard and the team from the Engineering School in Biel, the vehicle can be viewed today in front of the Autobau Erlebniswelt in Romanshorn. The vehicle's solar panels are still fully functional after more than 30 years. In addition, the panels on the roof of the custom-made container provide a self-sufficient power supply, and USB sockets for the Mobils for visitors are also available.
