Q:What is this car? A: SolarWorld GT (Cd 0.14 solar car going around the world)

[Cd]

Originally Posted by botsapper

Great find & example! Quite relatively (to our jaded eyes) 'conventional' looking and a great real-world practical package. Wheels at the corners, side-by-side seating, relatively high ground clearance, large interior space, conventional doors and access panels, and doesn't have to look like a rigid aero-template.

It's OK, put another wheel in your ultimate aero project.

I was going to say the same thing !
It even has cup holders !

I wonder how the Cd would be affected by " real world " sized tires.

[Cd]

Since it appears to have a roll cage, and the top speed is just over 60, I wonder why they wear helmets.
It seems like it would be hot.

[NeilBlanchard]

Here's their home site with information on their trip around the world:

SolarCar - SolarCar - Hochschule Bochum

There are more pictures -- it appears that it is front wheel drive; not four wheel drive.

One of the videos they link to there:

[NeilBlanchard]

"The car is decked out with solar panels made of crystalline silicon. While 31 miles per hour is the GT’s most efficient speed, it can cruise at a maximum 70 mph, a rate the creators jokingly admitted to driving close to when trying to reach UCSB in time for the event. Without sunlight, the GT can run for about 240 miles. With sunlight, it can go as far as it wants."

The Santa Barbara Independent Solar-Powered Car Looks to Bust Guinness World Record

So, if we could find out what capacity the battery pack is, we would know the Wh/mile consumption. It is probably is something like 30Wh/mile at the 31MPH, so that would indicate the pack is about 8-9kWh?

I'm liking this car more and more!

[kach22i]

That last video clears up the mystery of the front wheel cover fairings. The wheels are so skinny and set back just far enough to turn (so the covers can stay fixed).

This vehicle does deserve it's own thread, thanks Neil for starting it.

[rmay635703]

That would make a good daily driver, they need to make a kit version

[NeilBlanchard]

If someone wants to start a SketchUp model of the Bochum SolarWorld GT car, that would be great.

I think too, that the long rows of PV cells on the back could be raised slightly in long ridges and then a few more rows could be added.

[theycallmeebryan]

Boy, I'd really love to own a 0.14 Cd vehicle.

I'd drive that in a heartbeat! Every car on the road today should look like that.

[NeilBlanchard]

These are the previous model from Bochum University, called the BOcruiser.

[aerohead]

I made it down Thursday to Texas Christian University in Fort Worth,Texas,who's Applied Sciences Dept.( thanks Stephanie!), hosted the SOLARWORLD Gran Turismo solar car and team from Bochum University's Dept. of Applied Sciences,Germany.
I did get some photos although I don't know if they'll contain any info which adds to what is on the internet.
SOLARWORLD's Devon and Kelsey were on hand to share info on photovoltaics,of which they provided space-grade 29% gallium-arsenide cells for the GT.
SOLARWORLD presently owns and operates the factory which manufactured the ARCO Solar panels I purchased for my home in the early 1980s.
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The car is both stunning and unremarkable at the same time.Which was their mission.It's a 4-wheel,2-door coupe with front wheel drive,full independent "FORMULA" suspension.
You operate a door handle,open the door,get in,belt yourself in,and away you go.
Its light,small,very stable,easy to park.
It took 35 man-years to get it constructed.
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The fit and finish of the exterior is as good as it gets.The inside is pure race car.It's all carbon-fiber epoxy.Body gaps are less than 1/8-inch (3mm).
The bucket seats are very comfortable allowing many pain-free hours behind the wheel.
While sitting well back from the windshield,outward vision is very good except that you'd have trouble seeing some intersection traffic lights without ducking way down.The compound windshield is optically perfect.Ditto for side glazings.
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Quite a bit of belly is cut away to accommodate wheel flop of the special Schwalbe 5-atmosphere front steering wheels.Small aluminum angle extrusion is used for spoilers as we see in today's production cars front ends.
From the position of the seatbacks,the belly forms a continuous up-sweeping diffuser to the back.
The rear transom bulkhead has room for license plate,lights,and 'backup' camera ( there is no rearview or sideview mirrors ).
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I never got to see the car opened up,so I cannot explain the thickness of the body area which would otherwise be trailing fairings for the rear wheels.They could be intentionally thick to compensate for the falling roof line,providing sectional density,to mitigate sudden pressure spikes.
My Deutsche is pretty much zero.The teams English was embarrassingly good,although there was some difficulty in communication,especially aerodynamics.Eyes rolled back when I asked about longitudinal vortices.I just let it lay.
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The team is averaging around 50 km/h (31 mph ) and 150 km a day.At this velocity,the PV array is producing the power the car is consuming,850 Watts ( 1.14 hp ).You can imagine the fuel economy!
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From Texas,the team will go on to Florida,finish in S.Carolina ( I hope basjoos can make it there with AERO CIVIC ),then ship off to Spain,across Europe,Russia,China,Asia,and back to Australia to complete a Guinness World Record as the 1st around the World in a solar car.
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Al's kinds busy today so I don't know about photos.Will do asap.