world's first electricity producing solar powered family car

world’s first electricity producing solar-powered family car
all images © bart van overbeeke

presented by the solar team eindhoven (STE) of TU/e as the world’s first solar-powered family car, ‘stella’, the ‘energy positive’ vehicle provides accommodation for four people, fully accessible trunk space, an intuitive steering system, and has a range of 600 kilometers. equipped with photo-voltaic panels, the roof-mounted solar cells can generate more electricity on average than it consumes, meaning that with the surplus of electricity it produces, the excess can be returned to the power grid. by combining aerodynamic design with lightweight materials like carbon and aluminum, the concept boasts a stream-lined silhouette for an extremely fuel-efficient ride. in addition, the ‘stella’ features LED strip applications and touchscreen display that transforms all existing superfluous buttons and knobs for an interactive cockpit experience. intuitive driving is enabled with an expanding and contracting steering wheel that warns the user if they are driving too fast or too slow.

the ‘stella’ will participate in the cruiser class for the world solar challenge 2013, a 3,000 km long race across the australian outback from october 6 – 13 2013, that will place emphasis on the practical and user-friendly application to solar cars rather than on speed.