meet stella vie: the family car that runs entirely on solar power

dubbed ‘the most efficient family car that has ever been built,’ the friendly looking stella vie solar-powered car gives a glimpse to the future of zero-emissions transport. designed by the solar team at the university of technology eindhoven, stella vie has been made to compete in the world solar challenge, a competition for solar energy pioneers to design the ‘car of the future.’ the cute-looking ride can achieve a range of 1000 kilometers from the energy generated during one sunny day in the netherlands. since that’s a lot of ground to be covering in a daily drive, the surplus energy generated by stella vie can be supplied back to your house, or to an electric grid. 

all images courtesy of TU Eindhoven/ Bart van Overbeek

solar team eindhoven have designed stella vie to strike a perfect balance between aerodynamic and aesthetic design. built to be more streamlined that its predecessor–the stella lux–the vie increases the aerodynamicity of its older sibling by nine percent, and curves the body in a nod to more traditional automotive design. the ride sits lower to the ground than conventional cars, but big doors and handles make for easy accessibility. with a clean and spacious interior, and ergonomically optimized seats, the stella vie is the first solar-powered family car to ever seat five people!

with an in-built solar navigating system, stella vie finds the most efficient route, and even shows how much energy you will save in comparison to a standard, fossil fuel-powered car. as you approach your destination, stella vie offers parking assistance. the ride uses height maps and weather data, combined with a parking probability map to guide you to the specially-chosen free parking spot within range of your destination that yields the most solar energy. the car’s intelligent navigation system also uses the latest V2X technology to warn the driver about the upcoming traffic situation, allowing for a safer and more efficient journey. 

to conserve energy even further, stella vie gently nudges its user to drive as efficiently as possible by giving subtle feedback through a built-in lighting system which warns the driver by turning red should they brake too fast, or accelerate too fiercely. the solar-mobile comes with a smart charging and discharging system, which keeps track of both energy prices and its drivers agenda, in order to find the perfect time to charge or discharge the car.