Want to get your car off the grid? Then you need to get on the preorder list for EV startup Lightyear’s $263,000 solar-powered Lightyear 0.
The Verge reports that the Lightyear 0 sports 5 square feet of photovoltaic panels that allow it to travel 40 miles on solar power alone, while the total range for the vehicle is 388 miles. The solar panels charge continuously, which means that if you have a short enough commute in the morning and let your car soak up the sun in the parking lot before you drive home, the car could be exclusively solar-powered for months at a time–depending of course on how sunny your climate is.
Lightyear is a young startup in the EV space, and the Lightyear 0 is their first stab at an actual, saleable product. And while Lightyear does have a production timeline and manufacturing partner (the Finnish Valmet Automotive), the Verge notes that there’s no guarantee that the Lightyear 0 will ever see the light of day–especially compared to its high price and lower specs than other EVs now on the market. But there’s also no guarantee it won’t, and it’s a novel enough idea–not to mention an amazing engineering feat using solar to effectively power a vehicle–that EVS will certainly stay tuned for the results.
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