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Phoenix666 writes:

The Sion has seating for 6, a range of 150+ miles, 7.5 square meters of solar cells, an air filtration system that uses moss, and a price of less than $18,000.

A German startup, Sono Motors, has just finished a successful crowdfunding campaign to take its Sion electric car prototype to the next step, and if all goes well over the next year or so, it could go into production as early as 2018. At a time when many auto companies are quickly trying to catch up to the electric car trend with their own electric models (thanks, Tesla), the Sion is one of the only examples of an electric vehicle that includes a self-charging aspect, which could make it the perfect vehicle for enabling free 'fuel' for those with short commutes.

Although the Sion can be charged via a plug like other electric vehicles (EVs), this car also has solar cells integrated into its body, which the developers say are capable of delivering a charge to the vehicle's battery that can power it up to 30 km (18.6 miles) every day. With a top speed of 140 kmh (86 mph), it's not designed to be an electric sports car, by any means, but with seating for 6 and a 250 km range (155 miles), at a price of under $18,000, it just might be the affordable solar electric car we've been waiting for.

It's a product promo but it shows the inevitable evolution of the electric car concept. It seems they're also missing the opportunity to generate power with Stirling engines that exploit the temperature differential between the inside of the hot car and the outside.

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