Solar charged and pedalled electric car

Solar charged and pedalled Electric Commuter Car, Kerb Weight 160lbs, made by Alan Freeman, 1981.

In 1974 Alan Freeman first started to think about using solar panels to power an electric motor on a boat, and a year later he developed Solar Craft 1. By 1978 a prototype for the Solar Car was developed initially made out of plywood. In 1981 road tax for electric vehicles was dropped to zero, so Alan registered and insured the car, and was able to be the first to legally drive a solar car on the road. Due to these developments the Solar Car was fitted with a fibreglass body and given an aerodynamic shape. The car probably couldn’t be used efficiently in Britain due to the low levels of sun, but could be more successfully somewhere like the Mediterranean.