Sunswift Eve: The World's First 'Practical' Solar-Powered Car

A solar-powered car that claims to be the first to overcome "range anxiety" is attempting to break the world record for the fastest long-range electric vehicle.

The Sunswit eVe, designed and built by students at the University of New South Wales in Australia, has overcome performance and practicality issues that have traditionally plagued the solar car industry.

"There are many solar cars out there with a long range, and many other solar cars capable of even higher speeds," said Rob Ireland, business team leader at Sunswift. "However, we're trying to do something ground-breaking and overcome both.

"When it comes to practicality, no other solar car compares to eVe. With two seats and four wheels, you'd be forgiven for mistaking eVe for a conventional petrol-driven car."

With a top speed of 140 km/h (87 mph), eVe is capable of covering 800km on a single charge using li-ion pabtop batteries connected to C60 Sunpower silicon cells.

The motor, supplied by Australian national science agency CSIRO, operates at 97% efficiency, meaning eVe consumes as much power as a kitchen toaster.

Although not yet fully road legal, the eVe team believes that it would not take many modifications to make this possible.

On Wednesday, Sunswift will attempt to break a 20-year-old Guiness World Record for the highest average speed over a 500km distance.

"This whole thing started with one crazy idea: That we could fundamentally redefine what it meant to drive a solar car," said Hayden Smith, project director of Sunswift.

"It's about pushing the boundaries of our technology and it's about setting a new standard for solar vehicles around the world."