The Icarus Projects

Car Start-Ups Drawn to the Sun

- Michael Coates 

It seems like the logical step. If running a car on electricity is good, shouldn’t running it on solar-generated electricity be even better? If solar power is better, wouldn’t using solar power generated on the car be the best? If a car can generate its own electricity, doesn’t it become a kind of virtuous perpetual motion machine?

That’s the thinking that’s driven the Solar Challenge, where odd-looking machines built by college students and covered in solar cells (and not much else) race across a sunny highway to claim high-efficiency honors. It’s now spread beyond that to would-be automakers who want to extend the concept into a functional car. Needless to say, the solar challenge vehicles are science projects masquerading as a way to transport a human being.

The goal is noble; the execution, so far, has seemed to fall somewhat short of the aspiration. Here are three examples of current projects chasing the solar-powered car concept. Note that all three are struggling as the reality of creating, producing, and marketing this kind of automobile seems to lead to some singed ambitions.

Sono Sion