The Solar Car Goes on a Road Trip

You will probably get to see this and hear about in the news more and more in the coming weeks.  Forget about an electric car.  What about a solar car?  A new solar-powered car sponsored by SolarWorld is starting its U.S. road trip tour this week.  The SolarWorld Gran Turismo (GT) is heading out on the road as part of a 21,000-mile promotional tour, effectively enough to circle the globe.

This car is propelled solely by solar power.  No wind.  No gasoline.  The car is a collaboration between SolarWorld and Bochum University of Applied Sciences in Germany.  The Gran Tourismo is a two-seat sports car powered by roof-integrated solar cells.  The car plans to include university stops in California, Arizona, Texas and Florida as part of its road trip.

These are its stops currently scheduled:

• 4 p.m. Feb. 3, University of California Santa Barbara, Bren School of Environmental Management, Santa Barbara, Calif.
• 8:30 a.m. Feb. 6, SolarWorld Americas, Camarillo.
• 4 p.m. Feb. 10, Arizona State University, Office of Knowledge Enterprise Development, Tempe, Ariz.
• 4 p.m. Feb. 23, Texas Christian University, School of Geology, Energy and the Environment, Fort Worth, Tex.
• 4 p.m. March 9, Florida A&M University, High Performance Materials Institute, Tallahassee, Fla.