It was a mixed bag of rain and sunshine on Saturday when the competition in Delsbo took place. There was no mixing the results, however, when Dalarna University's team - comprising Dalarna University engineering students Björn Ferm, Ricky Olars, Peter Hagfalk, Simon Axelsson and Morgan Wilhelmsson and local secondary-school (Soltorgsgymnasiet) pupils Julia Larsson, Fredrik Forsman, Carl-William Lindkvist and Mattias Wängemark - achieved its blowout victory.
"It feels great," states Peter Hagfalk. "But best of all, we beat last year's Eximus III."
"It wasn't as good as when we test-drove, but we are of course really pleased," states Björn Ferm.
What has been the best part of the Eximus experience?
"The whole journey, from going from nothing to an operating vehicle," says Björn.
The stretch the vehicle was to cover was 3.36 km, with the average weight of six people being 50 kg. To achieve that exact weight, three people from the team and three children who were there to spectate became the vehicle's passengers for the day.
"This project has surpassed my expectations. I can totally imagine being an engineer in the future," states Julia Larsson, a pupil from the local secondary school.
Eximus IV is shorter and somewhat lighter than previous models, weighing 65 kg, which is almost 21 kg less than last year's entry, which weighed 85.9 kg.This was thanks to the ultra lightweight aircraft material that was used in this year's construction. The new motor and wheels also helped bring down the weight.
The Eximus project is financed by Teknikerjakten, the municipalities of Falun and Borlänge, Dalarna University and Region Dalarna.
The full results were as follows:
1st Place
Lag Eximus IV
Dalarna University
Wh/person - km 0.63
2nd Place
Lag Acus
Luleå University of Technology
Wh/person - km 1.14
3rd Place
Lag Rail S.N.A.I. V3
Linköpings University
Wh/person - km 1.27
4th Place
Lag ECO Delsbo Truncus
Linköpings University
Wh/person - km 3.64