page_title: The Quiet Achiever
section_title: Description
hierarchical_section_title: The Quiet Achiever / Description
caption_attribution_description: English: Australian 2500 mile transcontinental route for first solar powered racecar
context_page_description: The Quiet Achiever, also known as the BP Solar Trek, was the world's first practical long-distance solar-powered car powered entirely by photovoltaic solar cells.
  The project was promoted by adventurer Hans Tholstrup, with the Australian-made car developed by Larry Perkins and his brother Garry; and sponsored by British Petroleum. In December 1982, the car, driven by Hans Tholstrup and Larry Perkins, performed the first manned transcontinental journey using only solar power, traversing Australia from west to east.
context_section_description: The Quiet Achiever was hand-built by Larry and Garry Perkins. The body skin was made of fiberglass, while the skeleton framework was constructed of steel tubing, similar to what might be used in lightweight aircraft. The car had a large curved frontal window for the driver to see through, and side windows of clear fiberglass. The vehicle had a photovoltaic power system rated at 1 kilowatt, which powered it to an average speed of 14 miles per hour (23 km/h). The car's roof-mounted solar array consisted of two rows of ten 36-cell solar panels that were joined together, giving a total roof area of around 91 square feet (8.5 m²).
caption: The car's transcontinental route across Australia.
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