A Tehran University team is to participate in the World Solar Challenge solar car race across Australia next October.

The grueling 3,000 km (1,864 mile) run from Darwin to Adelaide is for cars that run only on solar power, without resorting to any of the polluting fossil fuels.

The 25-strong Tehran University team is entering the 'Persian Gazelle', which is an improvement of an earlier design, with reduced weight and higher speed compared with an earlier version, IRNA reported.

The car weighs in at only 150kg (331 lbs), as a result of extensive use of light-weight composite materials.

The designers have aimed to reduce the drag coefficient of the vehicle to only 0.2 at 100 km (60 mph), which is essential to eke out every bit of the energy to propel the car towards the finishing line.

ZAP/SME