XOF1 – Marcelo da Luz’s Solar Car to the Arctic Ocean

Marcelo da Luz and his solar car XOF1 visiting a school in New Orleans

This is one of our favourite stories, because it was not built by a car company or a university. Marcelo da Luz, a Brazilian-born former flight attendant living in Toronto, heard about Australia’s solar car race in 1987 and never forgot it. He is not an engineer and had no corporate sponsors. He simply built his own solar car, the XOF1, short for “Power of One“.

It took him about 50,000 volunteer hours. The body is polyurethane foam covered in fibreglass and reinforced with carbon fibre. The car weighs about 213 kg (470 lb) and carries 893 solar cells with a maximum output of about 900 watts. “With less energy than a toaster, I can charge the batteries and drive the car,” he said. With full batteries it can drive up to about 190 km after dark.

XOF1 ready to roll: the driver lies under a small canopy in the solar deck. Photo: Infrogmation of New Orleans / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

From 2008, starting in Buffalo, New York, Marcelo drove XOF1 across Canada, to California and Florida and back north. He became the first to drive a solar car below freezing, the first to reach the Arctic Circle, the first to charge a solar car under the midnight sun and the first to drive the ice road between Inuvik and Tuktoyaktuk on the Arctic Ocean. His first record of over 15,000 km beat the old 13,000 km mark; in the end he logged 36,220 km (22,436 miles). On his worst days he drove only about 6 km, or not at all.

A look into the cockpit. Photo: Infrogmation of New Orleans / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Police stopped him 26 times, and in Palmer, Alaska someone reported a UFO. The photos here show the XOF1 visiting a school in New Orleans, one of many stops where Marcelo spoke to students about solar energy.

The low, flat profile of the XOF1. Photo: Infrogmation of New Orleans / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

If you are building something on your own: this is proof that one person with patience can go very far. Compare it with the Solartaxi and the Midnight Sun record, and share your own build on our Submit Project page.

Technical data

Builder	Marcelo da Luz (self-built, no corporate sponsors)
Name	XOF1 = “Power of One”
Build time	~50,000 volunteer hours
Body	Polyurethane foam, fibreglass, carbon fibre reinforcement
Weight	~213 kg (470 lb)
Solar	893 cells, ~900 W max.
Range at night	up to ~190 km (120 miles)
Journey	From 2008: 36,220 km (22,436 miles) across North America, incl. Inuvik–Tuktoyaktuk ice road