Monkeys and elephants were not the only animals at The Brookfield Zoo this weekend. The rowdy members of NUsolar courageously stood next to the lions and bears proud to present SC5 at the zoo’s Green Expo this past weekend.
The zoo had us put the car in the middle of a plaza near the big cats exhibit. SC5 did a great job of capturing the attention of all types of people and all of us at NUsolar were happy to explain what the car was, who we were, and how we believed in efficient and alternative energy.
Like all of those there, I always enjoy talking about the car and plenty of people there had never seen anything like it. After answering a variety of questions, I thought it would be interesting if I shared with all of you some of the FAQs I got:
-How fast does it go?
60 mph top speed, but if we want to go sunrise to sunset we go 30 mph
-How long can it go at night?
100 miles.
-How much did it cost?
$200,000
-How long did it take you to build it?
Two years to design, nine months to build.
-How does it handle?
Like a go-cart.
-How much does it weigh?
575 lbs without the driver.
-How much energy do the solar cells collect?
1200 watts, or about 1.5 horsepower.
-What is it made out of?
Aluminum tube frame, and carbon fiber shell. (The carbon fiber was donated to us by Boeing)
-Can I drive it?
No!
Hope you learned something by reading this and, as always, keep an eye on NUsolar to see what’s next!
-Dan Cornew
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