Engineering:Lightyear One
| Lightyear 0 | |
|---|---|
 Lightyear 0 at Goodwood Festival of Speed in 2019 | |
| Overview | |
| Type | Solar car |
| Manufacturer | Lightyear |
| Production | from January 2022 (estimated) |
| Assembly | Uusikaupunki, Finland (Valmet Automotive) |
| Designer | Granstudio[1] |
| Body and chassis | |
| Body style | 5-door Liftback |
| Layout | wheel hub motor, four-wheel-drive |
| Powertrain | |
| Engine | Electric, 80 kW |
| Electric range | 725 km (450 miles) (WLTP) |
| Dimensions | |
| Length | 5057 mm[2] |
| Width | 1898 mm[2] |
| Height | 1426 mm[2] |
| |uk|Kerb|Curb}} weight | ~ 1,300 kg (2,866 lb) |
The Lightyear 0 (formerly the Lightyear One) is an upcoming all-solar-electric car by Lightyear. Production was originally scheduled to start in 2021, with a starting price of €149,000 incl. VAT (US$Undefined year "2,021"). First units are to be delivered in 2022.
Description
The Lightyear 0 is a large fastback, with the bonnet, roof and boot clad with 5 m2 (54 sq ft) of solar panels, with a WLTP range of 725 km (450 miles) and designed with a drag coefficient of 1px;">d=0.20. The company Lightyear claims there are 1,000 solar panels across the car that can add 50–65 km (30–40 miles) of range per day during summer.[3][4]
The car is all-wheel drive, with four in-wheel electric hub motors powered by a low-mounted battery.[5] It seats five adults and luggage.[4]
History
The solar panel design was born out of the Solar Team Eindhoven's solar-powered cars for the World Solar Challenge. Design work on the One was carried out together with GranStudio in Italy.[6]
Price and availability
Announced on 25 June 2019, production was scheduled to start in 2021, mentioning a starting price of €119,000 incl. VAT (US$Undefined year "2,021").[5] In September 2021, Lightyear were reported to have raised US$110 million to bring the vehicle to production, and delivering the first units in 2022, for the price of €149,000 incl. VAT (US$Undefined year "2,021").[7]
References
- ↑ "Lightyear One (2019) – Designing a super efficient family car that charges under the sun.". Turin: GranStudio. https://www.granstudio.com/lightyear-one.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "Lightyear One | The electric car that charges itself with sunlight". Netherlands: Lightyear. https://lightyear.one/lightyear-one/.
- ↑ Potts, Greg (26 June 2019). "The Lightyear One is a long-range solar-powered EV". Top Gear. UK. https://www.topgear.com/car-news/electric/lightyear-one-long-range-solar-powered-ev.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Lightyear One: Hands-on with a solar-powered car with 440-mile range". Venture Beat. https://venturebeat.com/2020/01/19/lightyear-one-hands-on-with-a-solar-powered-car-with-440-mile-range/.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Wilkinson, Luke (25 June 2019). "Lightyear unveils long-range solar-electric car". Auto Express (UK). https://www.autoexpress.co.uk/car-news/107239/lightyear-unveils-long-range-solar-electric-car.
- ↑ Vijayenthiran, Viknesh (25 June 2019). "Dutch EV startup". Motor Authority. US. https://www.motorauthority.com/news/1123770_dutch-ev-startup-channels-the-citroen-ds-with-lightyear-one.
- ↑ Lightyear raises $110 million to bring its $170,000 'solar' electric car to market - Electrek (archived)
External links
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