It is likely that the team from San Jose State University will use this vehicle to answer that very question during the next academic year, but it will involve

It is likely that the team from San Jose State University will use this vehicle to answer that very question during the next academic year, but it will involve a bit more work than just transmission changes. While it is true that with only ratio changes the vehicle can be made to drive directly upwind, it would not be all that efficient as the airfoils currently on the vehicle are propeller blades and not turbine blades. A set of properly cambered blades will need to be fabricated and installed and then the test could be done. One thing to remember is that when traveling upwind, the apparent wind over the chassis will be higher for any given multiple of wind speed. Upwind at 1x WS gives the same apparent wind as going 3x downwind. The current 'record' for directly upwind is ~64% of wind speed. http://www.gizmag.com/the-first-race-for-wind-powered-vehicles/9953/ http://www.gizmag.com/the-first-race-for-wind-powered-vehicl...