Papillion

Texas A&M and Northrup Grumman partner to create a solar car with expired composites used originally for stealth planes.

In 1999, A&M entered Sunrayce with its next design, Papillion. The shell of Papillion was built out of carbon fiber that was remnants of the discontinued B2 stealth bomber program. The brakes were integrated into the aluminum uprights to save weight and volume. The Papillion was also our first four-wheeled solar vehicle. This made the car much more stable and allowed for a more reliable chassis.