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With Iran planning to reduce its reliance on oil, work into solar power is gaining a foothold.

And now one group of Iranian students is hoping to showcase their research by driving a solar-powered car through the American heartland.

A 19-strong team is preparing to bring its Havin-2 car - which translates to Brilliant Sun - to compete in the American Solar Challenge in July.

A 19-strong Iranian team is preparing to bring its Havin-2 car - which translates to Brilliant Sun - to compete in the American Solar Challenge in July. Its 15ft (4.5m) carbon fibre chassis resembles a giant door. The four wheels that lurk beneath its sprawling white body (pictured) are the only clue it is a car at all

Powered by the sun, its 15ft (4.5 metre) carbon fibre chassis resembles a giant door.

The four wheels that lurk beneath its sprawling white body are the only clue it is a car at all.

Last month, the flat, rectangular vehicle was tested alongside slightly larger gas-powered motor vehicles on a stretch of highway in Iran's mountainous north.

With final preparations now in place, the group plans to compete in an eight-day, 1,700-mile (2,700-kilometre) race that will take it from Austin, Texas to Minneapolis, Minnesota.

The flat, rectangular vehicle was tested alongside slightly larger gas-powered motor vehicles last month on a stretch of highway in Iran's mountainous north

With final preparations now in place, the group plans to compete in an eight-day, 1,700-mile (2,700-kilometre) race that will take it from Austin, Texas to Minneapolis, Minnesota

The Havin-2 reached a top speed of 70 mph (110 kilometres per hour) during testing, but the team believes it is capable of 100 mph (160 kilometres per hour) in competition.

Farkhondeh Naziri, 20, in charge of electronics on the project, from Qazvin Azad University near Tehran, said the team plan to optimise the car's absorption of solar energy based on the route it  takes.

'We first do a simulation of the actual race course and study the weather conditions there. Then we try to calculate what the sun's angles would be during the eight-days,' she said.

The 485lb (220 kg) vehicle is 15ft (4.5m) long, 6ft (1.8m) wide and 4ft (1.1 m) tall, with a cockpit-like canopy for the driver.

With photovoltaic cells covering some 65 square feet (6 square meters) of its surface, the car's lithium-Ion batteries can drive it up to four hours.

Located 100 miles (160 kilometres) from the capital, Qazvin has 300 days of sunshine a year. Good roads stretch for miles across a largely barren desert landscape.

To ensure a level playing field in the United States, all teams will rely on 516 photovoltaic panels, or solar cells, made in America and patched together in Germany.

But each entrant has developed their own Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) system, which connects inverters, battery chargers and other devices to optimise the car's performance.

The skill and key to winning is understanding the course and detecting the angles of the sun's rays during a day's racing, starting at 9am and ending at 6pm local time, with each team using four drivers.

Farkhondeh Naziri (left), 20, in charge of electronics on the project from Qazvin Azad University, said they plan to optimise the car's absorption of solar energy based on the route it plans to take

The Havin-2 reached a top speed of 70 mph (110 kilometres per hour) during testing, but the team believes it is capable of 99 mph (160 kilometres per hour) in competition

The car's predecessor, the Havin-1, ranked 17th in the 2011 World Solar Challenge in Australia.

But while a host of technical challenges may have been overcome, the students now have a far bigger problem – sending the car to the U.S.

'We are really worried about it,' said Mohammad Saadatmand, the mechanical leader of the team from Qazvin Azad Islamic University, west of Tehran.

'To think that we might not make it is almost too terrible to contemplate.'

Standing in their path are the sanctions imposed on Iran for a nuclear programme that some believe masks an intention to develop an atomic bomb.

The restrictions make transporting the Havin-2 by air cargo a logistical nightmare.

'This car has made us crazy,' said Alireza Malmali, the team's electronics specialist who has now switched his attention to trying to find an air carrier.

'I wish governments across the world would accept we are researchers, not terrorists.'

Students from the Qazvin Azad Islamic University, west of Tehran, assemble the solar powered Havin-2 vehicle for a test drive. With photovoltaic cells covering some 65 square feet (6 square meters) of its surface, the car's lithium-Ion batteries can drive it up to four hours

While a host of technical challenges may have been overcome, the students now have a far bigger problem – sending the car to the U.S. sanctions on Iran make transporting the Havin-2 by air cargo difficult

The cargo arms of Qatar Airways, Turkish Airlines and Lufthansa all refused to carry the Havin-2, citing fears of breaching sanctions.

A letter from the U.S. Treasury Department appears to confirm that the car does not require special authorisation if is being used 'in a public conference, performance, exhibition or similar event'.

The solar challenge organisers, however, were unable to navigate the regulations.

'It has been very difficult,' said Sue Eudaly, the event's team coordinator. 'We went to a senator, who directed us to the State Department who then sent us to the Office of Foreign Assets Control. Ultimately, I guess we were not a high priority case.'

Last ditch negotiations with a Tehran-based carrier are now underway.

Even then, a delivery date no later than 1 July, which the carrier is reluctant to guarantee, leaves less than two weeks for the Havin-2 to clear customs in time for the start of the race.

The Iranian team is confident it can hold its own against the mostly American field, which includes the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Beyond the solar challenge's aim of promoting clean energy, a sense of national pride is also palpable among Mr Saadatmand and Mr Malmali, who both took part in the same event in Australia three years ago.

'We want to show we are good, maybe even better than the rest of the world,' Mr Malmali said.

The Iranian team is confident it can hold its own against the mostly American field, which includes the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)