Nissan Sakura EV Prototype: A Solar-Powered Car You Might Never Need to Plug In

But when you stop, an additional panel extends outward, sliding forward to hover over your windshield. The car basically sprouts a giant, flat-brimmed hat. Nissan says it’s “aerodynamically integrated” to minimize drag, but as you can see in the official images, it’s not subtle. It’s the kind of feature that makes small children stop and point.

There is, however, some serious method to this madness. When that panel is fully extended, the whole system generates about 500 Watts of power. Nissan’s team, who I assume did this math in a very sunny room, calculates that this setup can generate enough solar electricity for about 1,864 miles of driving per year.