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A solar-powered racing car that coasts at 60 mph using the same power as hairdryer has been produced by Cambridge University and was unveiled at the Goodwood Festival of Speed.
It was codenamed Bethany previously. But it has been launched with its official name Endeavour. The car is advertised to be Britain’s best step towards Global Green Challenge, a demanding 3000-km race across the Australian Outback this autumn.
This is one of the projects by Cambridge in 2009 celebrating its 800th anniversary and is first entry into the race by student team Cambridge University Eco Racing (CUER). The car is named after the famous ship on which Captain Cook navigated. The power to the car comes wholly from the solar energy caught by a 6 m2 covering of highly efficient solar cells.
The car is in effect an ultra-efficient electric vehicle. The designers are saying this car could be a model for other shapes of green transportation.
Jenson Button, the current leader in Formula One Championship said during the launch that the technology used in the racing car is impressive. It may be far from being an F1 car in terms of power, but a car that can drive at 60 mph using two horsepower surely takes cutting-edge technology.
