Solar Car Prototype from Ross Lovegrove
by Collin Dunn, Corvallis, OR, USA 
on 03.29.06
Ross Lovegrove, the renowned industrial designer (responsible for such products as the bamboo bike, the ceramic razor and the Orbit chair, just to name a few) has lots of different professional interests. He once told Wired, "How can I go from designing airline interiors to soap to bicycles? I fly three times a week, I use soap every night, and I need a bike, goddammit!" so we wonder how he came to design this concept car that will run exclusively on solar power. We're not sure how he plans to pull it off (it will be unveiled at the Salone Del Mobile Milano design show in Milan next week), though he had this to say: "This is a world where nature and technology fuse with man's ambition to achieve ultimate performance levels," adding that he has an "innate ability" to anticipate the future and lives by the motto "it is only the future if it can't be made," so if anybody can do it, Lovegrove is our man. He's getting some high-profile help from Sharp Solar Europe, Swarovski Optical Laboratories, General Motors and Coggiola, the automobile prototype specialist based in Turin. Wonder what he'd tell Wired, or anybody else, about this latest venture...::Born Rich via ::Jalopnik
Follow @TreeHugger on Twitter & get our headlines with @TH_rss!
Thirsty for more? Check out these related articles:
- Green Glossary: Planet Bike
- Zero Waste—The Newest Eco-Fashion Innovation?
- Sustainable Bamboo Exercise Gear is Here!
- How to Repair a Chip or Star Crack in Your Automotive Windshield
- Surf Green with Eco-Friendly Surf Gear
- Are You Using Too Much Dishwasher Soap?
If you'ver heard of the North American Solar Challange or the Formula Sun Grand Prix, you know that cars very similar to this one have already been built. Northwestern University (where I'm currently a student) is among the many schools that compete in races like these - you can see more at http://nusolar.org/ , http://www.americansolarchallenge.org/ , and http://www.formulasun.org/
Is this a joke?
No, Joseph, Lovegrove probably didn't intent it to be a joke, but I believe he doesn't realize he and most of his products are a joke.
There is a Solar car race in Australia every year, unfortunately I can't remember when it is - but its highly competitive, mostly university and other researchers participate.
Yeah, that car looks eerily like Northwestern's car (nusolar.org). I'm also a student there, and know quite a few people on the team. There's no way that car would make it for consumer use.
Our post on Australia's World Solar Challenge and be seen here. (The photo shown might remind you of something). The cars do cross the continent on nothing but sun juice.
I cant believe that he will get all of the praise and credit for this. There was a car just like this in the basement of the Detroit auto show this year- it was made by Michigan state's engineering department, I think, and it actually works. He's is going to be called a visionary and a genious for this. Outrageous!