The Dutch Lightyear startup demonstrated the working prototype of the Lightyear One electric car with some delay. The novelty is lined with solar batteries. Due to this, it can cover the distance of 725 kilometers, which is incredible according to the WLTP standard.
The drive of each wheel leads to a separate motor. However, the power, as well as the capacity of the battery placed in the bottom, is unknown. It is only reported that the car accelerates to 100 kph in 10 seconds. Up to 20 thousand free “solar” kilometers have been promised annually.
The serial version will be released in a two-years’ time at the price of 119,000 euros. The width of the novelty is 1,898 mm, the length is 5,057 mm, and the height reaches 1,426 millimeters. The trunk is spacious – 780 liters. The aerodynamic coefficient is not voiced yet, but it must be quite impressive.
The Lightyear manufacturer was founded by former students of Eindhoven Technical University three years ago. They worked at Solar Team Eindhoven at that time. This team triumphed at the Bridgestone World Solar Challenge three times, which is a competition for prototypes based on solar panels. The guys have unbelievably quickly collected the necessary investments, prepayments, and grants for their business. The total sum reached 20 million euros. The project has partly been funded by the European Union under the Horizon 2020 Innovation Program. Lightyear currently employs more than 100 people, including former Ferrari and Tesla engineers. The company CEO, Lex Hoefsloot, noted that the car was built from scratch, focusing only on the laws of nature. In the end, they received an incredibly effective design with solar panels on the roof and a hood occupying 5 square meters of the surface of the electric car.
It is possible to charge the battery from a household power outlet of 3.7 kW (35 kilometers per hour of charge), an alternating current charger of 22 kW (209 kilometers per hour of charge), or a 60-kW direct current Express Terminal (570 kilometers per hour of charge). Due to built-in solar panels, Lightyear One additionally produces enough energy to cover 12 kilometers over the period of one hour.
The customers have already reserved 100 cars from the first lot, consisting of 500 copies. The head manager assures that the high price is due to the high cost of new technologies. The upcoming models should cost less.
