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Headline : Dutch Firm Unveil Solar-Powered Electric Car With 450-Miles Of Range
Caption : Dutch car maker Lightyear has unveiled the first 'long-range' solar car that's claimed to provide customers with around 12,400 miles of motoring a year using free energy captured from the sun.

The Lightyear One was unveiled on Tuesday priced at €149,000 - around £134,000. Customers who want to secure one of the first 500 'pioneer' examples with need to pay a reservation fee of €119,000 (£106,166).

The car, which has five square metres of solar panels on the roof and bonnet, is claimed to have a range of 725 kilometres (450 miles) from a full charge of the relatively small battery powering the vehicle.

At the launch event in Katwijk, Holland, bosses revealed key pieces of information about the solar car that's due to be delivered to owners in 2021. They said it can be charged directly from the sun, which can generate a maximum of 20,000km worth of free energy per year.

But it can also be charged from existing electric vehicle plug-in points while it's also boosting the batteries using its solar panels, effectively charging much faster than traditional EVs already on the market. An overnight charge from a 230-volt socket will provide customers with 400km of range, around 250 miles.

Lex Hoefsloot, CEO and Co-Founder of Lightyear said the car 'represents a new era of driving'.

'Two years of dreaming, thinking and working hard have led to this milestone, which is a giant leap towards achieving our mission of making clean mobility available to everyone.'

Lightyear says car itself is constructed from high-tech composite materials so that it is super light - to extend the range - but strong enough to withstand crash impacts and pass stringent safety regulations.

The design is super aerodynamic in a bid to reduce drag and, again, extended the range. The small battery pack installed in the One powers the four driven wheels independently, so no energy is lost in transit from the engine to the wheel. The roof and bonnet is made up of a combined five square meters of integrated solar cells in safety glass.

The interior reveals a minimalist cabin with a clutter-free dashboard and hard-wearing recycled materials. The central unit is dominated by an iPad-size touchscreen. This will house the infotainment system but also provide information about remaining charge and live updates for the volume of energy being collected from the sun.

Anyone who wants to get their hands on a One will need to reserve one of the 400 cars that currently don't have a name on them. This can be done at the Lightyear website.

Production is due to be begin in 2021 at the firm's own facility in Helmond, just outside of Eidhoven.
PersonInImage : Lightyear One