Lightyear the company behind the eponymous Lightyear One solar powered car unveiled a prototype of the car last week and said it plans to begin delivery of the vehicle to customers by 2021.
The prototype vehicle covered in solar panels was demonstrated to media by engineers at Lightyear, a company founded in 2016 by former students of the University of Eindhoven in the Netherlands who formed Solar Team Eindhoven to compete and win the solar-powered World Solar Challenge consecutively in 2013, 2015 and 2017.
While the team claims that the car will get 725km of range from its built-in battery, the real draw is the car’s five square meters of solar panels, which cover its roof and hood and can charge the car’s battery with up to 12 km of range an hour. Lightyear claims these solar cells are 20 percent more efficient than traditional models, and they are encased in safety glass to protect them from damage.
Though the 725km range is truly impressive given how the next best range is a relatively piddling 596km offered by Tesla Model S, the fact remains there is very little power you can draw through solar panels in a fixed time. So, it would probably be better to call the Lightyear One an electric car that also has solar panels, as it thankfully also has the ability to be charged like an ordinary electric car from electric plug-in points.
Lightyear One supports up to 60kW of fast charging, giving it 507km of range per hour of charge. The car has a total of four electric motors, which will allow it to accelerate from 0 to 100 kmh in 10 seconds.
Lightyear is currently taking preorders for the first 500 Lightyear One cars for a reservation price of around $135,000. The car itself is expected to have a starting price around $170,000 when it goes on sale in the open market. Production of the vehicle is expected to start at a slow pace and Lightyear did not provide any details on the manufacturing process for the cars. The high asking price could also be a tough sell. For that money, you could probably buy yourself a top-of-the-line electric car, install solar panels on your house, and still come away with change. Plus, the increased power output of your panels could mean your electric car is technically more solar-powered overall.