Stinger Solar Car (?)
The Stinger
I received a comment on a recent post, here it is in its entirety:
This design goes one step further: http://www.physicslablh.com/futureDesign.htm
At the jump you find the “Stinger” and the claim that “The Stinger name and design is the exclusive intellectual property of Dr. Al Alberts. ”
They also claim:
Performance and Economy: With only the driver on board, the 400hp, 2300lb, Stinger can easily accelerate from 0-60mph in well under 5 seconds in 4WD Traction Mode , yet by shifting into Sport rear 2WD (250hp) and then Economy Mode rear 1WD (125hp) once your desired speed has been reached - you simply set the Cruise Control at 70mph and the same aerodynamically designed Stinger can maintain that highway speed with as little as 8hp on a flat gradient! Therefore, under optimal conditions, The Stinger Solar Electric Sports Coupe can travel great distances in bright sunlight without on-grid power supplies.
Let’s examine the claim that the Stinger can travel at 70 mph on only bright sunlight. I will even give the good doctor the benefit of a very big doubt that his design will only need 8 hp at 70 mph. 8 horse power is equal to 5,968 watts of electricity and that is if the electricity is magically transformed with 100% efficiency into horse power. Typical solar panels can give about 10 watts per square foot. Really high tech panels can get 20 watts per square foot, so lets assume NASA solar panels. The area of solar panel required for 8 hp continuous power would be 5,968/20 or 298 square feet of panel all pointing directly at the sun. A Honda Accord has a horizontal projection of 161.5 square feet, so you would need just about two Honda Accords, both completely flattened so that the top surface can point directly at the sun.
The claims don’t add up. I invite Dr. Al Alberts to help me understand how his car can overcome the constraints reality seem to be placing on his “Stinger” design.
May 25th, 2010 at 7:53 pm
I accept the invitation and suggest you look at the new prototype photos that are now on the web. A quick glance should assure you that the design actually has more than double the usable surface area of a Honda Accord; this was a key design criteria in creating the 15.6 foot by 7.7 foot body. Likewise, it’s true that the estimates were based on space specification (NASA type) 35% efficiency solar cells- as are typically used on satellites. However, you are missing the much larger point regarding some free solar (be it 17% or 38+%) charging being much better than none- especially if it comes in an aesthetically pleasing aerodynamic contoured body shape designed to carry four passengers at mainstream prices (under 30k projected selling price).