King Philippe I of Belgium unveils Punch One, the new Belgian solar car

Leuven, 2 July 2015 – In preparation for their participation in the World Solar Challenge in Australia this autumn, the Belgian Punch Powertrain Solar Team publicly introduced its newly-developed solar car. This took place in the presence of His Royal Highness King Philippe I.

The Belgian Punch Powertrain Solar Team proudly unveiled their new solar car: the Punch One. The team had the opportunity to explain their new car’s innovations to His Royal Highness King Philippe I. Many members of the press and public also attended the event.

King Philippe I of Belgium unveils Punch One, the new Belgian solar car

Many improvements have been made compared to the earlier solar car that the Belgian Solar Team developed. For example, the Punch One is the team’s first asymmetrical car with four wheels, as a result of which the aerodynamic resistance is 30% lower than with a symmetrical car. Further optimizations in the production process resulted in 10 kg of weight savings than its predecessor and the solar panels function far more efficiently. Finally, in order to optimize energy consumption, the top speed of the Punch One was intentionally limited to 125 km/h. As a result, the car can drive at a higher average speed, which is an important factor in the endurance race.

The World Solar Challenge is regarded as the unofficial world championship for solar cars, in which 30 teams from 19 different countries have to cover a distance of 3,021 km with their solar car, from Darwin to Adelaide (Australia). In the next few months the Punch Powertrain Solar Team will be extensively testing the car, with the ultimate objective of being the first across the finish line. The race begins on October 18th.