LEBANON: University team builds Arab world’s first solar-powered car

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A team of engineering students and their professor have built what they describe as the Arab world’s first solar-powered car, according to a news release.

It is named ‘Apollo’s Chariot,’ in reference to the Greek god of the sun. The steel and fiberglass one-seater (pictured) is about 18 feet long and 6 feet wide and weighs about 1,500 pounds.

A bunch of engineering wizards led by professor Daniel Asmar at the American University of Beirut designed the car over nine months at a cost of $25,000, paid for mostly by corporate sponsors.

‘With its aerodynamic design, the futuristic-looking vehicle glides over the road quietly,’ the news release said.

Three dozen photovoltaic cells on the car’s body produce about 1,000 watts of electricity, stored in batteries built into the car.

During a demonstration this week, engineering student Elie Maalouf, one of the designers, drove the vehicle for a few minutes. He took it forward, backward, along a curb and up a hill.

So far, the car has reached a top speed of about 18 mph. But its designers say it can go as fast as 40 mph on the highway.

‘It looks like a rocket, but moves like a swan,’ said Amin Kanafani, another student on the design team.

The designers hope to represent Lebanon in next year’s World Solar Challenge, a 2,000-mile Australian car rally for sun-powered vehicles.

-- Borzou Daragahi in Beirut