The car -- with which an Annesley team was the first South Australian finisher in the most recent World Solar Challenge from Darwin to Adelaide in 1993 -- has been substantially upgraded for this years event, starting in Darwin on October 27.

EOS - built at the girls college and named after the Greek goddess of the dawn - has a new motor, expected to be ten percent more efficient, a new nose cone, wheel arches and driver bubble, new electronics and revised steering and braking.

Annesley has encouraged its students to participate in its EOS project and the World Solar Challenge because of the opportunity for women of the future to learn about and apply technology, especially in energy development, and to focus on team management and organisation.

The EOS team comprises Year 12 student Natalie Kemp, four Year 11 students - Kelly Bourlotos, Meroe Kuhl, Hui-Ling Tan and Beth Warwick - and two Year 10 students - Rachel Leal and Francesca Mignone.

Cars in the World Solar Challenge race more than 3,000km to Adelaide on the electrical energy produced from eight square metres of photovoltaic solar cells.

Apart from its successes in two previous World Solar Challenges, Annesley has won its class in two Sydney Energy Challenges and finished fifth in a major international event in Japan.

The GM Sunraycer that won the first Darwin-Adelaide World Solar Challenge in 1987 stimulated the development of the General Motors electric production car, EV1, which is to go on sale in the U.S. soon.

Holden provides financial assistance and two support vehicles to the Annesley team, and similar backing for the Northern Territory University entry, Desert Rose.