Lightyear One, the first prototype electric car unveiled by Lightyear, has a claimed range of 450 miles or around 725 km.
The Lightyear One will achieve the range using its built-in battery and other additions. One of the big differences between Lightyear One and other electric cars is the addition of five square meters of solar panels.
These solar panels cover the roof and hood of the electric vehicle. These solar panels can charge the car with up to 12 km of range in an hour.
The company claims that these solar cells are 20 percent more efficient than the traditional models. In order to protect them from damage, these solar cells are encased in safety glass.
The Lightyear One is not a solar car by any means since addition of 12 kmh is not a lot of charge. It is naturally an electric car that also happens to have solar panels. If it achieves the claimed range of 450 miles then it will beat the current flag bearer: Tesla Model S.
The electric car can be plugged-in like a traditional electric car for charging as well. The company notes that it will support up to 60kW of fast charging and will offer 507 km of range per hour of charge.
Like the top-end Model S, it has a total of four electric motors. It allows the car to accelerate from 0 to 100 kmh in 10 seconds. It is currently taking preorders for the first 500 Lightyear One cars for a reservation price of around $135,000.
The car aims to challenge Tesla but by the time it reaches market in 2021 we will see more challengers in the segment.
Reference- CNET, BGR India, Lightyear website