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Photos: The solar powered speedster
To Affinity and beyond…

By Nick Heath

Published: Monday 16 June 2008

It might look like a UFO hurtling towards you but this solar-powered race car is proof that fast wheels are not at odds with the environment.

This Affinity whizzes along at a top speed of 60mph and was put together by the Cambridge University Eco Racing (CUER) team.

Affinity will race from Victoria Falls to Cape Town in January 2009 as part of Zero Rally Africa - a carbon-neutral car rally crossing Zambia, Namibia and South Africa.

Solar races often take place on public roads and solar cars have even been known to pick up speeding fines.

The vehicles have streamlined and lightweight Kevlar and carbon fibre bodies, designed to reduce drag - which can account for about 70 per cent of all power lost at cruising speeds.

Photo credit: HP/CUER