1986 'Solar Resource' solar powered car
Object No. 90/813
This is an Australian-designed and built solar assisted electric car. It was built in 1986-87 as a privately funded backyard project by a small team of engineers and designers headed by Ian Landon Smith at Wahroonga on Sydney's North Shore. It was used in the 1987 Pentax World Solar Challenge race from Darwin to Adelaide. This solar car achieved 7th overall place and first in the private entry class.
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Summary
Object Statement
Automobile, full size, solar powered, 'Solar Resource', designed and built by Ian Landon Smith, Wahroonga, New South Wales, Australia, 1986-1987
Physical Description
Automobile, full size, solar powered, 'Solar Resource', designed and built by Ian Landon Smith, Wahroonga, New South Wales, Australia, 1986-1987 This is a four wheeled vehicle constructed on a square tube frame. It has a very low body (just over one metre in total height), square in section with round nose and removable fibreglass cockpit cover and tinted windscreen. Body panels are made of fibreglass, mylar and kevlar, and painted white. Ther are four holes in the front of the nose for ventilation, and one in the top of the canopy to enable the rear vision mirror to sit above the roof on a 'stalk'. The axles extend horizontally from each side, further at the front than at the rear, and there are white aerofoil covers over the axles. The wheels have pneumatic tyres. There are four orange indicator lights at each corner. A 4200 x 2000 solar deck is fitted behind the cockpit. The solar panel weighs 50kg. Inside the cockpit polystyrene panels are set into the sides, the aluminium tube frame seat is set in the horizontal position; the squabs and headrest consist of light net-like material. Control panel has digital readout instruments labelled with 'Dymo tape': battery voltage, battery amp, solar voltage, solar amp, as well as a clock and stop watch. Bracketed under the instrument panel is a twenty channel CB radio. Behind the seat are two bottles, one attached to a tube for drinking, the other attached to a squirter for cooling the driver. Further back are two 12 volt Pulsar batteries. A boomerang-shaped steering wheel is set in the centre. The car is powered by a Swiss-made electric motor with variable chain drive to rear wheels. Total weight is 170 kilograms.
DIMENSIONS
Height
1040 mm
Width
2000 mm
Depth
5430 mm
PRODUCTION
Notes
This is an Australian-designed and built solar assisted electric car. It was built in 1986-87 as a privately funded backyard project by a small team of engineers and designers headed by Ian Landon Smith. Specifications Solar array: 760 monocrystalline GaAs cells Electrical: 36V system, 1300W Transmission: variable with chain single reduction final drive Suspension rear: beam axle and panhead rod with air bag suspension Suspension front: double swing axle with spring plate and hydraulic dampers Steering: bevel gear reduction Brakes disc, dual circuit hydraulic Mass: without driver 132kg
HISTORY
Notes
The 1987 World Solar Challenge was the world's first transcontinental race for solar powered cars. Run over a distance of 3,005 kilometres from Darwin to Adelaide, the race attracted 24 competitors from seven countries. This car, named 'Solar Resource', is a privately designed and built car, put together in a Sydney backyard. Solar Resource finished in seventh place overall, having travelled at an average speed of 25.64 kilometres per hour, but it gained first place in the Private Entry category. Only 11 of the 24 starters finished the race. Mr Ian Landon Smith, an engineer and alternative energy specialist, built the car for approximately $75,000 in 1986 - 1987, and in the 18 months he spent designing and building the car, he had to make each component three times over before the final succesful construction. Mr Landon Smith was inspired to build a solar powered car after reading an article in an engineering magazine in 1985. He was well into designing the car when he travelled to Switzerland in 1986 to see the Tour de Sol international solar powered car competition, which then spawned several changes, but did not alter the original concept of his car. After the car proved its engineering prowess in 1987, Mr Landon Smith donated it to the Powerhouse Museum in 1990.
SOURCE
Credit Line
Gift of Mr Ian Landon Smith, 1990
Acquisition Date
23 August 1990
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