So the car itself might not be really sustainable, but it leads money and attention to solarpower by making it sexy, and that alone is already a good thing.
this post was submitted on 21 Oct 2025
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Can't they make the hood any longer? I don't want to see any asphalt.
That’s like a retro-futuristic classy 1930’s Batmobile…
I don’t hate it
Or the surprised looks of the children as I run them over.
Mercedes are so low to the ground you’d only have a chance of running over a baby laying down. If those are 21” wheels then literally a 6 month old would be above the hood. https://www.cdc.gov/growthcharts/data/who/GrChrt_Boys_24HdCirc-L4W_rev90910.pdf
I'd rather things were kept low than the ridiculous SUVs and trucks with 40" high fronts.
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Long front ends need a comeback
bleh. no thanks. hate having to estimate where the hood ends on rentals etc.
If I neglect to pay the subscription, does it start draining power instead?
Finally, we've returned to designing coupes that look like penises.
Honestly I love this body shape. It's an expensive car for expensive people and it harkens back to the last time we had runaway wealth inequality. 10/10
It's the Batmobile!
Seeing comments nitpicking the body shape... it's the exact body shape it needs to be to get rich investors to finance it and tech bros to buy it. Smart move.
They can expand to sedans and SUVs later.
I think it's more to maximize surface area for solar power generation.
There's nothing inhibiting their engineers from designing sedan and SUV bodies with comparable surface areas.
I doubt it generates enough energy either way. If that mattered they'd put in a long ass trunk as well.
I'm a little thrown by "20% efficient" when paired with "allows 94% of solar energy to pass through." Are they saying it captures 20% of 6%, i.e., 1.2% of the incident solar energy? Or are they saying 20% is captured and 94% passes through for a total energy recovery of 114%? (This latter is not physically possible, but that doesn't mean it's not what they're saying.)
Basically I would rather they listed the power output of the solar system in Watts.
94% makes it to the solar capture, which is 20% efficient. So 20% of 94%. Bear in mind these are laboratory numbers, not real world. No one will ever get that in the real world.
So using their numbers of 11 square meters at 1000w/sqm, and 18.2% efficiency would mean 2002w nominal assuming the entire car is illuminated. Multiply that by 4*365 to get the average annual production (2922kwh). Then multiply by 6km/kwh for the distance you could drive (17538km).
Article says 17000km/yr
So I think they're overestimating by at least 40% since the whole car will never be completely in the sun.
2kW is a LOT of production. That'd be enough to run most homes. If it's able to produce that for five hours a day they'd hit that 17000km figure no problem.
2kW × 5h = 10kWh 6km/kWh × 10kWh = 60km 60km/day × 365days = 21900km
I went with 4kwh/kwp instead of the 5 hours you suggest since that's more common around the world. Assuming you're actually in the UK, I'd bet you're more likely to see 3-3.5 in a country so famous for soggy weather.
Also, the more relevant point would be that the whole car can't be in the sunlight all day, unless you park next to a giant mirror.
I'd rather have actually efficient solar panels at home to charge a regular EV with; this is some solar frickin roadways level impractical nonsense. What if the paint goes opaque after a few years? What abput scratches and dings?
Also can we make the wheels any bigger?
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So much negativity in this thread. It's a cool concept and a sexy car.
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So it can power... what? The radio?
The headlights. So they can blind you with the ridiculously bright LEDs.
"The protective layer is described as a new nanoparticle-based paint that allows 94% of solar energy to pass through."
Imagine getting a large scratch on this car, it will probably cost the same as a second hand regular car to get it repainted.
This paint is worth a lot. They should sell it. Apparently developed by them. Zero publications. How is it wired is the big question.
I'm curious to see how the material holds up
Design inspired by the hit game "Cyberpunk 2077", I assume?
I thought it's the original batmobile from the 90s.
The original screen batmobile is from the 60s, and the comic version is from the early forties 🤓
"silicon-free"? Is that a selling point? Is silicon good or bad in some way?
Silicon needs a lot of energy to be produced.
Money
The insurance payment would rocket to the sky
Good thing being rich is a prerequisite for owning that thing, because a mild fender bender's taking out the entire front end. Still, dead sexy.
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