The Affinity solar powered car continued its journey yesterday travelling from Chester to Carlisle as part of its 934mile hike from Land’s End to John O’ Groats during its preparation for the World Solar Challenge in 2009.
The car is being driven by students from Cambridge University and is said to be the only road-legal solar-powered car in Britain. It made a brief stop for publicity at the Sexy Green Car Show after leaving Land’s End last Sunday, and should reach its destination by Saturday.
The vehicle has a maximum speed of 50-60mph but is making plenty of stops during its journey at schools and city centres.
After completing its journey, it will make a double stop in York on Monday - visiting the city centre and Bootham School, where team member Anthony Law claimed his early educational roots. Mr Law spoke positively about the car’s prospects in the Yorkshire Post.
“Road transport contributes more than 20 per cent of the UK’s CO2 emissions, so developing sustainable alternatives to traditional cars is vital. Our solar-powered Affinity shows that sustainable transport can be glamorous - not only does Affinity have infinite range and zero emissions, but it also looks amazing,” he said.
He believes actively involving young people in the car’s journey is crucial to drive home the green car message and build excitement for the industry in general.
“It’s crucial that young people realise that engineering isn’t all about spanners and greasy overalls, but that, even as a student, you can be developing new technologies that really are at the cutting-edge of what’s currently possible,” he said.
Of course solar-powered cars are a still a long way from hitting the mainstream, but with the growth in development of lower emission cars in general this may be another crucial step in the green car revolution.
