Electric cars are the hot topic of today, with virtually every major automaker having recently released an electric vehicle or feverishly working on bringing one to market.
However, we recently stumbled across a different kind of electric vehicle while perusing Facebook Marketplace. What you’re looking at here is the Solar Electric Engineering Destiny 2000, a Pontiac Fiero that has been converted into a battery-electric vehicle and features solar panels on its hood and rear decklid. This one has certainly seen better days with its rough-looking bodywork and missing lead-acid batteries, though the seller is only asking $5,000 for it, making it one of the cheaper ways to get yourself into an electrically motivated vehicle.
So what’s the story behind the Destiny 2000? There isn’t much official info available on the car, though a Fiero forum and an electric car enthusiast site seem to have to steered us in the right direction. Solar Electrical Engineering was an American solar cell firm that eventually turned its focus to electric vehicles, with a man named Gary Starr leading the company’s EV division. At some point, Starr got the idea to convert the mid-engine Pontiac Fiero sports car into an EV, attaching a General Electric series-wound DC motor to the vehicle’s stock five-speed manual transmission. The motor was fed by a series of 6-Volt, Trojan Motive T-125 Plus batteries, which were charged using a custom charger developed by Solar Electrical Engineering. The solar panels on the car also helped charge the battery, of course.
According to a post on EVAlbum.com, the Destiny 2000 tipped the scales at 3,200 lbs. (light by modern-day EV standards) and had an estimated range of around 50 miles. Acceleration figures aren’t available, though we don’t expect it to be even close to as quick as any current-day EVs. The top speed was allegedly around 75 mph. A blue example of the Destiny 2000 also appeared in the film The Naked Gun (1994) starring Leslie Nielsen.
This beat-up Destiny 2000 may look like a bit of a lost cause, but the seller insists that all it needs is a couple of lead-acid batteries and some TLC to get it back on the road. If you’re an EV or Fiero enthusiast, this could be a cool project to take on. Check out the listing at this link for additional information and photos.
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Comments
It comes with a spare tire holder and a full size spare.
Hope all a great day tomorrow ???
The Fiero was the prototype for the Saturn manufacturing methods used on first generation cars built in Sprighill, TN. Space frame with composite body panels was a new concept at that time. The EV1 was built on a platform similar to the Fiero, after the discontinuation of the Pontiac 2 seater. The Fiero was a groundbreaking vehicle, even though it was made possible with the parts from the Chevette and Citation to keep costs down during its design during the early 1980s recession. The 89 model was to have had several improvements like the new Quad4 which had up to 50 more hp, electric power steering and a restyle. Chevrolet did not want any competition for the Corvette, so the sibling rivalry never evolved. Instead the new more expensive Buick Reatta was about to replace the Fiero. The Pontiac Solstice was another 2 seater introduced in 2006, but it died in 2009 with the entire Pontiac brand. So sad, GM spent too much on starting up Saturn and starved the other divisions of needed funds to update products. The late 90s included acquisitions of Saab and Hummer, which meant the neglect of core brands was becoming all too common. Too many divisions lead to the demise of GMs models, now all that’s left is trucks and SUVs and a few halo vehicles. Wow, GM had better build the best trucks and SUVs in the world, they gave up on vans. NO more excuses!
Wow this was a great read I still have the car I did pull off the market but still taking offers.
it was in Naked Gun 2 1/2 at about the 24:20 mark