In the midst of the increasing incursion of automotive companies in ecological mobility, There are several brands that decided to work in the generation of energy through solar panels. However, only a few of them translated their developments into vehicles, such as the Sono Sion and the Lightyear One, today renamed Lightyear 0.
While the industry continues to work, in Australia the autonomy record for a car equipped with solar panels was recorded. The milestone was reached by a group of Engineering students from the University of New South Wales (UNSW), who reached 1,000 kilometers without having to recharge energy.
Sunswift 7, the record car
Called Sunswift 7, it is a vehicle made with the purpose of participating in the World Solar Challenge, a test of more than 3,000 kilometers of travel, that crosses the oceanic country from north to south, and that is reserved only for vehicles powered by solar energy. On 7 the latest Sunswift developed by Australian students, who have been working on the subject for years. As a curiositythe predecessor model, the Sunswift 6, finished 2nd in the 2019 edition of the aforementioned competition.
The electric car has a carbon fiber monocoque chassis and is powered by two electric motors (both located in the rear axle), which receive energy from a 38 kWh battery. This is charged not only with the solar panels, but also externally.
Speaking to the local outlet Drive, Richard Hopkins, director of the Sunswift Racing university team, said: “When the vehicle is running, the engines get power from the solar panels and the battery, while when it is stopped, the panels charge the battery.”
The body is made of carbon fiber, it is composed of 4.6 m2 from solar panels (for which the battery was fed with 2.5 kWh), and it has a highly aerodynamic design, which allows it to have a coefficient of 0.09 Cx, that is, less than that of the Mercedes-Benz EQS, which at the time of its launch was the lowest in the world for a production vehicle (0.20 Cx).
Although the Sunswift 7 has capacity for four occupants, the truth is that It is not approved for public roadssince it lacks basic security systems and elements, such as airbags.
the record
The autonomy record was held on a test track near the town of Geelong. At an average speed of 84.17 km/h (can reach 140 km/h), the Sunswift 7 took 11 hours, 53 minutes, and 32 seconds to reach 1,000 kilometers.
During the half day of driving, there were five students who took turns behind the wheel. One detail: prior to the record attempt, the event became very relevant in Australia, so Local sports figures including former Olympic swimmer Ian Thorpe and Supercar driver Chaz Mostert volunteered to drive the vehicle.
The almost twelve-hour journey was only delayed twice: the first, due to a left rear tire puncture; the second, due to a failure in the vehicle’s software. In both cases, the loss of time was around 15 minutes.
Hopkins assured that, with this new record, it demonstrates what is possible with this technology, before ensuring that the car is not designed to perform at its best in terms of acceleration, but is designed to be efficient. In this sense, this car does not go from 0 to 100 km / h like a Tesla, he expressed.
For now, students and Hopkins sent a request to the Guinness World Records, in order to have the aforementioned record validated. To do this, the entity specializing in milestones must create a category, since there is none that contemplates this type of achievement.
