If you go car-free, will it help our environment? Can one person really make a difference to global warming? Well I believe it can, but disowning a car doesn’t seem to be a particle solution. Rather opt for an eco-friendly drive over the fuel guzzling cars. And to add on to the growing market of green cars, here’s the Antro Solo prototype invented by a team of Hungarian engineers. Unveiled at the recent Budapest Museum of Transport, it manages to fit three adults while returning excellent fuel figures and highway speeds.
Built exclusively (almost) from carbon fiber composite materials, the Solo weighs in at just 270kg. Seating is arranged like that found in the McLaren F1. The driver is supposed to sit in the center, flanked by a passenger on each side.
The light weight and hybrid design allow it to achieve fuel efficiency between 1.5L and 2.0L/100km (117-157mpg US) while also attaining a top speed of 140km/h (87mph).
The car derives its power from a series of technologies, including solar power, human power and a standard combustion-electric hybrid system. The combustion engine is a small flex-fuel unit capable of running on petrol or ethanol, but the engine is only designed to be required for the longest trips the Solo makes. Short trips, between 15km-25km, are intended to be made on solar power alone as an array of solar panels are extended across the vehicle’s roof.
The company intends to pull off mass production within four years and retail it at €12,000 (US$18,000). A larger model, called the Duo and offering room for six but otherwise essentially identical, could follow. There are even plans to make the Duo capable of being split into two Solos with just 10 minutes of work. If you dare to dream you can, I think anything is possible!
Via Autoworld
