On This Day In History

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Monday 8th August 1955

The first successful test of a solar-powered car was completed. William G. Cobb of the General Motors Corp. continued to demonstrate his 15-inch-long “Sunmobile,” the world’s first solar-powered automobile, at the General Motors Powerama auto show held in Chicago, Illinois which opened on August 31. The model car’s balsa wood body was in five sections. It had two center sections that were hollowed out to receive a pine chassis, the electric motor, and the drive mechanism. General Motors at the time said the car that showed futuristic capabilities was not practical because even if the solar cells ran at 100% efficiency they would only produce 12 horse-power, not enough to propel an average automobile of the time.More than a half-century after Cobb debuted the Sunmobile, a mass-produced solar car has yet to hit the market anywhere in the world.