A Dutch company from Eindhoven recently has revealed the prototype car they’ve made, known as Lightyear One, that took first place at the Bridgestone World Solar Challenge, because it is the first long-range solar car in the whole world. It already has over 100 orders to be filled in 2011, and the vehicle is for four passengers.
According to the company’s website, now cars emit 12% of the European greenhouse gases, and the number will only continue to rise if we do nothing. Also many countries have been struggling to make the necessary infrastructure for the electric cars.
But this company decided to leapfrog this grid, and make the Lightyear One, which is charged by our sun, which can be taken on long road trips, because it is not dependent on charging infrastructure, the way the other electric cars are.
The company says that the vehicle will get a range of 725 km, and during the winter months at highway speeds about 400 km with the heating on, which is really amazing since it takes out gas and conventional charging out of question.
Accordingly, it tends to be charged using the sun, or connected to an electrical plug. It can energize to 400 km around evening time from a typical family unit electrical outlet.
It is built from innovative materials with the least weight conceivable while keeping up stringent traveler security. Its hood and rooftop are made of 5 square meters of incorporated sun oriented cells in security glass. The glass is fantastically solid, so a completely developed grown-up can stroll on them without causing scratches.
It tends to be charged at a normal outlet or a (fast) charging station and being moved by four autonomously driven wheels, no energy is lost in travel from the motor to the wheel.
Their site asserts that its improved optimal design and configuration imply that a completely energized battery has a scope of up to 800km, while the incorporated sunlight based cells of the 5 m2 hood and rooftop guarantee it energizes to 12km/h as it goes. Also, they guarantee that the officially better range proceeds than reach out with each hour of daylight.
The organization includes that Lightyear One has been built originating from a profoundly alternate point of view, so they concentrated on finding the most ideal approach to upgrade proficiency and security. They began starting with no outside help, and left show aside and pursued just the laws of material science, and figured out how to benefit from each joule of energy.
However, as everybody expected, not many people can afford this car. First of all the production in the facility in Helmond is new and still slow, but buyers can reserve on of the 500 electric cars for a reservation fee of €119,000.
This unusual car raises the main question once more — why are we still drive cars with petrol engines, when we have the opportunity to use the solar and electric powered ones?
