Picture a marathon in Japan around 1990. In front of the runners, instead of a car with a noisy engine and exhaust, rolls a flat, quiet solar car. That was the job of the Toyota RaRa II.
Toyota developed the RaRa II in 1990 as an escort vehicle for marathons and other races. Together with its successor RaRa 10 (1992), it took part in solar rallies and led the field in marathons and long-distance relay races in Japan. Its flat solar deck covers almost the whole car, with a small cockpit for the driver, the typical shape of solar cars of that time.
The RaRa II was also a development platform. Its experience went into the RaRa 10, a high-performance single-seat solar racing car with a carbon-fibre monocoque body and a belt drive to the rear wheels. The RaRa 10 started its first race at the Solar Car Rally in Noto, Ishikawa Prefecture, on 30 August 1992. Toyota described these cars as part of its research into alternative-energy vehicles for environmental protection and energy saving.
Today the RaRa II is on display at the Toyota Automobile Museum in Nagakute near Nagoya, next to the Doraemon-themed solar car “Soraemon-go”. Japan’s solar car story continues with the university racers of Tokai University. Not much technical data about the RaRa II has been published. If you know more, tell us.
Technical data
| Builder | Toyota Motor Corporation (Japan) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1990 |
| Purpose | Escort vehicle for marathons and long-distance relay races; solar rallies |
| Successor | RaRa 10 (1992): single-seat racer, carbon-fibre monocoque, belt drive to rear wheels |
| Today | Toyota Automobile Museum, Nagakute (Aichi) |
Photos
- Top photo: 先従隗始 / Wikimedia Commons, CC0
- The RaRa II at the Toyota Automobile Museum in Nagakute, Aic… Photo: 先従隗始 / Wikimedia Commons, CC0
- The solar deck of the RaRa II. Photo: 先従隗始 / Wikimedia Commons, CC0