Lightyear One, the World’s First Long-range Solar Car
When the sun rose in the Netherlands today, a Dutch mobility company called Lightyear introduced the prototype of what is hailed as the world’s first long-range solar car.
After making a name for themselves with their Stella car in the World Solar Challenge, the two founders aimed to build and sell solar vehicles on a large scale.
Equipped with five square metres of solar cells protected under safety glass (so strong that a fully grown adult can walk on them without causing dents, apparently), the Lightyear One uses sunlight to charge the battery directly, at a rate of up to 12 km/hour. It can also plug into a conventional Level-2 charging station to regain up to 350 km in one night.
When fully charged, the Lightyear One can cover approximately 725 km based on the WLTP cycle and 800 km depending on where you drive and how. This easily bests the longest-range EV currently on the market, the Tesla Model S (600 km). The car’s light weight, unbeatably low drag coefficient and four in-wheel motors are a big reason for its phenomenal efficiency.
Even in winter, where cold temperatures affect a battery’s ability to hold its charge, drivers can expect to travel at least 400 km at highway speeds and with heating on.
The company plans to start deliveries of the production model in early 2021. If you are interested and have lots of cash to spare, you can reserve one of the first 500 units now for €119,000, equivalent to $178,000. The base price is set at €149,000, or $223,000.
By the way, the Lightyear name refers to the collective distance travelled by all cars on Earth annually.
