Lightyear has unveiled the Lightyear One, its latest solar-powered car. The new Lightyear is a test model in the environmentally friendly and high-performance sedan category for the usual electric cars that operates on a hybrid drive system from solar and electric energy as well as works with a four-wheel drive system, manufactured and developed by Lightyear is a modern Dutch company that manufactures the most powerful and newest vehicles and is located in Eindhoven, the Netherlands. The new Lightyear has several exceptional features that we will learn about in this report.
Announced on 25 June 2019, production was scheduled to start in 2021, mentioning a starting price of €149,000 incl.VAT ($170,000 USD). In September 2021, Lightyear were reported to have raised $110 million to bring the vehicle to production, and delivering the first units in 2022.Electric range: 725 km (450 miles) (WLTP)Engine: Electric, 80 kW
Lightyear One
It belongs to the long-range sedans category that uses natural solar energy to provide its range and has better capabilities and a huge range compared to other electric cars such as the Tesla Model S with a battery capacity of 100 kWh, with a range of 613 km (315 miles), and the Lucid range Motors range up to 644 km (400 miles) with a 130 kWh battery pack.
This is a positive idea to produce a car that relies entirely on solar energy in the context of preserving the environment, as the world’s eyes are directed to the use of cars that derive their energy from clean energy instead of those that run on gasoline.
Lightyear One price
Investors have paid the company $48 million in funding, which will see the car roll out first in the European and American fleets sometime this year.
The new Lightyear One will be available at a price ranging between 135-180 thousand US dollars, which is equivalent to 2800,000 Egyptian pounds, which is an exorbitant amount.
It is possible to pre-book for the European and American markets, where 400 copies are already available after booking 100 copies.
New Lightyear One Vehicle Specifications
Lightyear has not revealed many details yet, but we can glean some details through the images, including:
Lightyear One Exterior Design
As for the exterior design, the new solar car features a more harmonious streamlined design with a sloped roof that extends over an area of 5 square metres, where the integrated solar panels can be clearly seen on the rear of the car’s roof and bonnet to efficiently withdraw solar energy with digital mirrors on the sides and some distinctive slots cut in the rear bumper.
It got an elegant exterior with a seamless design with durable safety glass, interlocking headlights, and at the back there is a strip of lights that extends along the front of the car horizontally.
The cars come with special wheels from Bridgestone, designed specifically to save energy and reduce wasted energy, and they are light in size, in addition to the presence of a cover for the rear wheels.
Lightyear One Interior Design
As for the interior design, it has a practical and convenient interior design, and the car offers a spacious interior with two rows of seats to provide a large space for passengers as it can accommodate up to five passengers.
Technologies in Lightyear One
It has many advanced means of communication and entertainment, such as the ability to operate the air conditioner from a distance.
Mechanical Specifications for Lightyear One
As for the propulsion system, the car has a plug-in electric system with four electric motors that can recover energy during braking and can cover a distance of 735 km.
The car can accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in 10 seconds.
The vehicle is equipped with a high-performance, rechargeable battery pack that can be charged anywhere and can generate approximately 700 kWh of electricity for a total range of 800 km (497 mi) on a single full charge.
The car generates solar energy automatically and charges itself alone, which increases the car’s range by about 50-70 kilometers per day above the electric charge, and if the car is not driven, this energy will be stored until I use it at a later time.
The solar panels will generate 12km of endurance per hour because they only derive a small percentage of their solar energy needs.
According to the company’s statements, car owners who live in a warm and sunny climate will be able to drive their cars for several months without the need to plug in a wall outlet. A distance of 19,000 km can be traveled all year round, depending on solar energy.
And in the event that solar energy is not available in cloudy conditions or at night, it will be able to charge with a household wall plug to cover a distance of 400 km.
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