Solar-powered Lightyear 0 championed sustainability at Revival

We see how much changed over the course of 20 years, be that in Formula 1, sportscars and even road cars, with engines moving from the front to the rear, aerodynamic forms slimming down in the pursuit of ultimate speed and engines getting bigger and more powerful, as tyres engorged to take the strain. Legacy marques either adapted and evolved, or made way for up-and-coming names with new ideas. Both on and off-track, the landscape was rapidly changing and truthfully, cut-throat.

And so we look now to 2022 and beyond, as names that have been around for centuries have to break moulds they once cast in order to keep up with innovative and agile new names. Names like Lightyear, whose Lightyear 0 got its UK debut at the Goodwood Revival. This innovative all-electric car comes with some big claims and some stats that should have the OEMs sitting back and taking note.

This teardrop-shaped machine subtly blends contemporary styling sensibilities with sci-fi influences, into a car that very much looks like it’s from the future without seeming far-fetched or intimidating. Forward-looking though it is, there is a hint of Le Mans longtails, of Mercedes-Benz Streamliners, to its look, especially in that silver. Times have changed, but the laws of aerodynamics haven’t, which are of course what have largely dictated its look.

It’s claimed that aero drag accounts for around 60 per cent of energy consumption at highway speeds, which is why the 0 has been carefully sculpted to be the most aerodynamically efficient production car in the world, with a drag coefficient of 0.175. For context, the incredibly slippery McLaren F1 hypercar of the 1990s, which howled its way to a long-standing top speed record, had a drag coefficient of 0.32. Three examples Lightyear compares the 0 with are the Tesla Model 3, the Mercedes EQS and the Volkswagen XL1, which have respective coefficients of 0.23, 0.20 and 0.18.

With our focus on sustainability at Revival with Revive and Thrive this year, the 0 is especially relevant, as a new car that dramatically reduces lifecycle emissions and material use, from production to end-of-life. An enormous part of that is the way it stays charged, with a huge reduction in plug dependency. If you live in a sunny climate, the five square metre solar array atop the Lightyear’s roof can charge it up enough per day for 43 miles of driving. In certain minimal and urban use cases, Lightyear owners may almost never require power from the grid.

While the spotlight is largely on cars from generations past, it was their innovation and the resulting success that etched them into the history books and our collective consciousness. As above, that same innovative, anti-stagnant spirit is evident again in today’s motor industry and brave new pioneers like the Lightyear 0. We look forward to having a go and seeing what they do next.

Photography by Victoria Merrick.