Solar Flair

Key facts

Year

1993
Country

Great Britain
Owner

National Motor Museum Trust
Manufacturer

Unknown

How will vehicles of the future be powered? Will electric motors replace the internal combustion engine? Or will some new, as yet undiscovered, technology create a new transport revolution?

Philip Farrand developed Solar Flair for the 1993 World Solar Challenge. This bi-annual event promotes the development of solar-powered cars. Entrants race over a 1,800-mile route from Darwin to Adelaide, across the arid and sparsely populated Australian Outback. Solar Flair finished the event in nine days.

Power supply: 8m² solar array. 8 x 12Volt batteries to store energy and provide boost for acceleration.

Motor: Super efficient 8hp 1.2kw output electric motor, seven times more efficient than an internal combustion engine.

Cruising speed: 35mph