Race the Sun (1996)

The call themselves "lolo"--lowly locals in Hawaiian slang--and they've already learned a hard lesson: all they should look forward to in life is mediocrity and failure. These low-income, multi-ethnic teenagers don't expect anything from themselves, because nobody else does, until the day the new science teacher arrives at Kona Pali High. For some reason, Sandra Beecher is different from their other teachers--she actually thinks they can, and should, learn something in school. With her encouragement, a handful of her least-likely students tackle a science project that would challenge even the best and the brightest: they decide to build and race a very special car. Powered by the sun--and by the newfound pride that burns in the Kona Pali High students' hearts--the fragile vehicle will take them all the way across the Australian continent on a journey of wonder and self-discovery.