Luminos: Innovative Teardrop-Shaped, Solar-Powered Race Car
A team of Stanford University students has created Luminos, a lightweight, teardrop-shaped car, which is topped with solar panels that generate all the electricity the car needs to run. The team developed custom 97% efficient solar car electric motors – a significant improvement over the industry-standard 93% – and a unique solar panel encapsulation process for increased power. Weighing in at just 375 pounds, Luminos generates less than half the aerodynamic drag of a cyclist and can cruise continuously at highway speeds on solar power alone. Luminos is competing against 47 other teams in the 2013 World Solar Challenge, a 2000-mile trek across the Australian Outback.