I’m not so sure how people will take to the remark of ‘Arab World’ but since the team that built this solar car wishes to be known by that title, we are none to deny it to them. A team of engineering students and their professor have built what they describe as the Arab world’s first solar-powered car and irrespective of the terminology and the origin it still is something to be pleased about. The car does not look to be something sensational or extraordinary compared to today’s growing standards, but then looks can be pretty deceptive at times.
A bunch of engineering wizards led by Professor Daniel Asmar at the American University of Beirut designed the car over nine months at a cost of $25,000, paid for mostly by corporate sponsors. Named ‘Apollo’s Chariot’, the huge and wide solar car looks like one of those participating in a solar car race and not so much the final sleek product that is ready to hit the streets. The steel and fibre glass one-seater is about 18 feet long and 6 feet wide and weighs about 1,500 pounds.
Three dozen photovoltaic cells on the car’s body produce about 1,000 watts of electricity, stored in batteries built into the car. The car has reached a top speed of about 18 mph. But its designers say it can go as fast as 40 mph on the highway. The car will be participating in the World Solar Challenge next year and we will be watching the progress closely!
Comments
it’s a good thing that arabs are also creating environment friendly cars, for they are really cool, but the design itself of the car in the pic is poorly made, i wonder if there are Replacement Cover available for it...