On 19 December 1982, the Australian adventurer Hans Tholstrup manoeuvred the idea of a solar-powered land vehicle from concept to reality. With the assistance of fellow Australian Larry Perkins, an engineer and an accomplished race driver, Tholstrup set out from Perth on the west coast of Australia in the fragile Quiet Achiever (Figure 1(a)) – now widely acknowledged to be the world’s first solar car. An immediate target was to beat the 28 days set by Francis Birtles in 1912 in the first motor vehicle to cross the Continent (Figure 1(b)). . | Solar Cars Batteries DAJ Rand CSIRO Energy Technology Clayton VIC Australia 2009 Elsevier . All rights reserved. In the Beginning On 19 December 1982 the Australian adventurer Hans Tholstrup manoeuvred the idea of a solar-powered land vehicle from concept to reality. With the assistance of fellow Australian Larry Perkins an engineer and an accomplished race driver Tholstrup set out from Perth on the west coast of Australia in the fragile Quiet Achiever Figure 1 a - now widely acknowledged to be the world s first solar car. An immediate target was to beat the 28 days set by Francis Birtles in 1912 in the first motor vehicle to cross the Continent Figure 1 b . The Quiet Achiever weighed 125 kg and consisted of a tubular steel frame four bicycle wheels two 12-V lead-acid batteries two simple power switches and an electric motor. Twenty photovoltaic panels were placed across the top of the vehicle to form a horizontal roof. The chassis could be lifted out of the body quite easily and the car could be reassembled in 5 min. Tholstrup and Perkins arrived at the Sydney Opera House on 7 January 1983. The 4052-km transcontinental crossing had been completed at an average speed of 23 km h 1 in just 20 days thus easily beating Birtles s record. Moreover the car had shown surprising reliability there was not one breakdown during the long and arduous journey. The success of their epic energy-saving voyage ignited worldwide interest in solar cars and gave rise to the brain sport of solar car racing. The first event was the Tour de Sol held in Switzerland in 1985 and over the years similar races have taken place at frequent intervals in Europe Japan Taiwan and the United States of America USA . Such competitions champion the creative integration of personal development with engineering and scientific expertise across a wide range of disciplines. Meanwhile back in Australia Tholstrup revealed the prime reason for his earlier adventure. His mission was to focus international .
