The solar car versus the ice road
After two years and more than 35,000 kilometres, a Toronto man plans the ultimate challenge for his solar-powered car: the 185-kilometre ice road linking Inuvik with Tuktoyaktuk, writes Darcy Henton.
Darcy Henton, Canwest News Service
It should come as no surprise that when you drive a vehicle that looks like it came out of a Star Wars movie, you're going to attract attention.
That's probably why Marcelo da Luz has been stopped 26 times by law enforcement during a two-year, 35,750-kilometre odyssey that has taken him across Canada and the United States. The Torontonian is now headed for the Beaufort Sea.
People have called in UFO sightings when they've seen him go by in his solar-powered car, the Power of One (Xof1). The 41-year-old adventurer says he has been pulled over by the U.S. Secret Service, a SWAT team from Washington, D.C., and even Alberta Mounties. The latter said he was driving too slow on the QE2.
He's had to keep the 225-kilogram, flying saucer-like Xof1 off the roads in Ontario, but most other jurisdictions have given him permits to travel.
Da Luz says the one-seater can reach speeds of 120 kilometres per hour under ideal conditions, but usually cruises at a more sedate 70 km/h -- slowing to 40 km/h to climb hills -- with its 12 horsepower engine.
It's no hot rod, but it has some snap. Da Luz says it can go from zero to 85 km/h in six seconds -- not bad for a vehicle with fewer amps than a typical toaster.
It took the former airline flight attendant more than 50,000 hours to build the machine, with a lot of help from engineers, friends, college professors and university students. It has been his dream to have one ever since he stumbled upon Australia's solar car races in 1987.
Da Luz says his initial goal was to promote the use of sustainable, clean energy by building a solar car and driving it 8,000 kilometres from Newfoundland to Victoria, but he soon set his sights on smashing the solar car distance record of 15,070 kilometres. He says he accomplished that in October 2008 in Victoria, B.C. although the feat has not yet been officially recognized as a Guinness World Record.
Now, after twice crossing the Arctic Circle and cruising the U.S. from California to Florida, Da Luz is picking up where he left off in Inuvik last November. On April 10, he's tackling the 185-kilometre ice road that links Inuvik with Tuktoyaktuk, N.W.T.
He has endured sandstorms in California and drenching rain on the Dempster Highway, but the ice road will test the limits of man and machine.
If the weather is too warm, the road will deteriorate and he could be stranded on the wrong side of the Mackenzie River. If it's too cold, he could freeze in the unheated car and experience breakdowns or failures of components that aren't made to endure severe wintry weather. The cold could sap his batteries. The short daylight hours and low-slung sun will impede his car's ability to run on solar power. And then there's always the risk of blinding spring blizzards.
"It will be a great challenge for me. Anything can happen. But I may get lucky with the weather and the car as well."
The flimsy-looking, made-in-Canada craft has proved to be durable. Da Luz has been thrilled with its performance. In fact, he says he's had more problems with his support van and trailer, which have broken down a number of times.
He lost the transmission in the van near Beaver Creek, on the Yukon side of the Alaska-Yukon boundary, and had to limp to Whitehorse in first gear. But he found a shop that agreed to replace it with a $2,400 new gear box for no charge.
"It amazed me the generosity of people I found on the way," said Da Luz, who says he has twice mortgaged his home and spent his life savings on the project.
He has been back in Toronto trying to raise $100,000 for the next leg, which will take him from the Arctic to Argentina, but it has been a difficult challenge to find sponsors.
"I'm getting more into debt, but you only live once," he says. "You don't want to live life moaning about your dreams and the things you should have done. Life is worth living and you try to make the best of it."
Check out the Power of One at
www.xof1.com