[S2!!!]

SolarMobil Manipal is the project taken up by 30 students from various engineering disciplines of Manipal Institute of Technology. They have designed India's first solar powered passenger car prototype. This vehicle is intended for production in the future and the project team are enthusiastic to prove its long term reliability.

The first vehicle fabricated under SolarMobil was FREYR-1”, a single seater solar powered prototype vehicle. Its' success motivated the students to work on a commercially feasible passenger vehicle – “SERVE”.

The dimensions of the car are similar to a C2 segment sedan.



The team showcased the “SERVE” concept on a national platform at SOLARCON India 2013 in Bangalore.



The SERVE (Solar Electric Road Vehicle) is a two seater, four wheeled vehicle that has been designed, fabricated and is being manufactured in-house.
The car is designed based on 3 principals: energy efficiency, light weight and aerodynamic design.





Some key highlights which the SERVE comprises of are: Space Frame Chassis, Dual Hydraulic Line Brake System, Front and Rear Double Wishbone Push Road Suspension and the transmission features a Chain Drive Couple with Motor and Open Differential.




The vehicle is being tested extensively and the team plans to present it at the International level by competing in the Sasol Solar Challenge 2014 in South Africa. The event is a biennial, 2000 km long race spread over two-weeks covering the length of South Africa and is backed by organizations like International Solarcar Federation (ISF), Fédération Internationale de 'Automobile (FIA) and World Wildlife Fund (WWF). The challenge is a melting pot of budding engineers and industry stalwarts who are vying for a cleaner and greener tomorrow.



It is really nice to see students taking matters into their own hand to introduce innovative and alternative techniques to build energy efficient vehicles. Hopefully, our new government will support alternative energy vehicles and promote such projects.