Queensland racing team wants Australia to become world’s first solar car supplier

Australia is racing to become the first global supplier of solar-powered cars as Queensland-based racecar maker Cleanergy Team Arrow said the prototype sports car it is building for the 2017 World Solar Challenge will be developed commercially.

Cleanergy Team Arrow unveiled Monday the design of its solar electric car that will compete for the Crusier class for the 2017 World Solar Challenge, a 3,000-kilometre race that will run from Darwin to Adelaide on Oct. 8 to 15, 2017.

Named Arrow STF (Sports Touring Framework), Cleanergy’s latest prototype solar car is a two-seater sports car designed to use both solar energy and supplied power from a lightweight Lithium Ion battery pack.

According to Cleanergy Team Arrow, the Arrow STF is intended to run between 300 to 400 kilometres at highway speed of 110 kilometres per hour on a fully charged battery. It also should also run on 1,000 kph speed for city driving.

“As part of our development program, TeamArrow plan to race the Arrow STF over 3000km in the 2017 World Solar Challenge and then make the car commercially available for drivers who would like to own a truly unique vehicle,” Cleanergy Team Arrow said in its website.

“The Arrow STF is a vehicle that can serve your practical everyday driving needs, using nothing more than the power of the sun.”

Cleanergy Team Arrow said the Arrow STF will be two to three times more aerodynamically efficient than a traditional car. Designed with a twin-motor configuration, the sports car will be built with 5 square metres of 24.4 percent efficient custom made solar arrays.

World's first commerically available solar-powered cars

Cleanergy Team Arrow founder Cameron Tuesley disclosed that the racing team’s prototype solar racecar will eventually be reproduced as road-registered sports vehicles that could cost at least $250,000 apiece—without air-conditioning—to buy.

"Air-conditioning is an interesting one — I'll say yes, we're seriously looking at it … [but] air-conditioning is very power-hungry, so we're just trying to figure it out," Tuesley explained.

Those interested to own an Arrow STF are encouraged to register on the Cleanergy Team Arrow website this early.

“If you are interested in owning an Arrow STF, we would encourage you to register as we are planning to make only a limited number of these vehicles,” the team added.