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World first: Family sun-run car

A breakthrough in sustainable energy and car design has enabled a team of engineers to build the world's first solar-powered family car.

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The Dutch team, the London Daily Mail reported, has created the world's first 'energy positive' car, which means it produces more energy than it uses. It also has enough room to seat a family of four.

Using large roof-mounted solar panels, 'Stella' can travel 402km without sunshine or, on a Sunny South Africa day and fully charged, as far as 675km - nearly halfway from Jozi to Cape Town. That's nearly twice as far as a standard battery car can travel before it needs to be charged.

WEIGHS ONLY 380KG
 
The four-seater weighs only 380kg, 1120kg less than a normal battery car, thanks to the free use of aluminium and carbon fibre

Team manager Lex Hoefsloot of the Netherlands' Eindhoven University of Technology said: "Because the car is parked 90% of the time in front of a house or office, we found out that in 10 out of the 12 months of the year it provided more energy than it used."

Even in rainy Holland.
 
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