Sunswift solar electric car reaches funding goal to hit the streets
The world record-breaking Sunswift eVe electric solar car, designed and built by students at UNSW, is set to hit Australian streets after reaching a AU$30,000 crowdfunding target.
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Australia's world record-breaking solar electric car is set to become street legal after a successful Pozible campaign saw UNSW's Sunswift team raise AU$30,000 to rebuild the vehicle.
Sunswift eVe is the fifth-generation electric car designed and built by the student-led University of New South Wales Solar Racing Team, based out of Sydney. After breaking a world landspeed record in July (for fastest electric vehicle over 500 kilometres travelling on a single charge) the team of undergraduate engineers is now working to get the car out on the streets.
Sunswift launched its Pozible campaign on December 1 and reached its funding goal of AU$30,000 in just 10 days. The funding total continues to grow and the team is hoping to edge higher towards its AU$100,000 budget by the campaign deadline before Christmas.
While the AU$100,000 budget has been calculated to cover parts and services to make the car "safer, faster, more aesthetic and more efficient," Sunswift will use its AU$30,000 in Pozible funding to modify the car to meet Australian Design Rules to ensure the car is roadworthy and legal to drive on Australian roads.
"The $30,000 raised through Pozible is enough to make all of the compulsory and necessary changes we need to bring our car to the streets of Australia," said Sunswift Project Director Hayden Smith.
"Every dollar we raise above this target lets us invest even further in cutting-edge technology such as carbon fibre suspension, more efficient motors, and an increased number of solar panels for the car."
The team hopes to bring the car onto roads as early as March 2015; Sunswift says this is the first step in its long-term goal of bringing solar-electric cars within the reach of the average driver.
"When we're closer to getting the car road-legal it's going to really hit home just how commercially viable these cars can be," said Sunswift Chief Business Officer Rob Ireland.
"Road registration is really going to have an impact on people's perceptions of solar-electric cars."
The Sunswift Pozible campaign runs until December 22, 2014.