BMW GroupIf you design it right, a primarily solar-powered car is very much a possibility. That's exactly what a team from Clemson University, which runs an automotive engineering graduate program, did. Better yet, they claim that their invention, developed with the aid of BMW, ends most days with more energy than it started with. The car is a product of Clemson's Deep Orange program and bears the name Luminetta, a nod to what the car runs on: sunlight.At first glance, it doesn't immediately look like a solar-powered car. That's because, unlike the handful of electric cars with solar panel roofs, the Luminetta's solar cells are part of the outer body panels. These panels contain more than 1,700 photovoltaic cells that basically cover the whole outside of the car. The cells are co-engineered by Germany's Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE, a solar research lab. They've been specially designed to keep producing even when a tree or a garage pillar shades part of them.The car can generate as much as 5.7 kWh over the course of a day. According to the team's estimates, the energy generated is enough for roughly 31 extra miles of range on average, assuming a standard commute of 12 miles daily. The team came up with this estimate based on models of sunlight in Greenville, South Carolina; Frankfurt, Germany; Madrid, Spain; and Mumbai, India.AdvertisementAdvertisementRead more: 15 Annoying Car Myths That Simply Refuse To DieHow Clemson got a car down to 1,212 poundsBMW GroupThe Luminetta isn't just clever; it's also light. It weighs just 1,212 pounds, which is around a quarter of a similarly-sized production car. That odd shape contributes to its energy efficiency, too. The students drew inspiration from the boxfish, which has a blocky body that allows it to move through water with surprisingly little drag. The flat sides also give the solar cells far more room than any curved body would. None of this comes at the cost of safety; occupants are protected by structural steel, with aluminum, carbon fiber, and 3D-printed metal joints, also used for their lightweight and stiff nature.While the numbers are impressive, it's important to note that the Luminetta's energy-positive claim rests mostly on Clemson's modeling. For them to prove the energy figures survive in the real world, they'd have to log miles of real commuting, spread across the full year. Things like parking the car underground or the weather staying gray for a week or longer could very well wreck the math.Regardless, Clemson will be showcasing the Luminetta at CES Las Vegas in 2027. While we may never see this specific project hit the streets, it'll be interesting to see whether any of it will end up featuring on a future BMW EV. Something to rival Aptera's solar-powered three-wheeler, perhaps?AdvertisementAdvertisementWant the latest in tech and auto trends? Subscribe to our free newsletter for the latest headlines, expert guides, and how-to tips, one email at a time. You can also add us as a preferred search source on Google.Read the original article on SlashGear.
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