While some are in search for the classic Volkswagen Beetle to pimp up, one Nigerian student is going beyond restoring the once-popular car. Segun Oyeyiola, a final year engineering student at Obagemi Awolowo University, has built what could possibly the first ever wind and solar powered car.
The student built the car from the ground up with an old VW Beetle as the shell. He didn’t stop at that. Segun told Fast Co Magazine that the four-wheel vehicle designed for off-road was reconstructed from scrap material donated by friends and family.
Segun’s motivation is to create a clean energy car that reduces carbon emissions. He installed a solar panel on the roof of the beetle and a wind turbine that turns the rotors hence charging the battery as it moves. The Beetle has a GPS and Segun is working on custom apps to monitor the energy consumption.
He assembled the prototype mid-last year and is working on improving some parts of the car including the 4-hour that it takes to charge the battery.
“Rome wasn’t built in a day,” Segun told UPNairobi. “It is better to start anything you want to do now and never, I repeat, never expect someone to believe in your dreams because they may not understand it as you do. Endeavor to follow your heart and do what will make you happy and that which will not affect your fellow being negatively.”
Segun is a serial innovator who believes students have a lot of opportunities to try new things. Back in 2013, Segun was working on a cube satellite that aimed at recording vital signs in outer space.
“You guys will be able to view the real shape of the earth, get the outer space temperatures values…and so on.”
