Remember The $250K Lightyear EV? The First One Is For Sale

And it may sell for considerably less than the production car would've.

Front view of a black and silver electric car.

Photo by: Troostwijk Auctions

Christopher Smith

By: Christopher Smith

Sep 10, 2024 at 3:00pm ET

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The first Lightyear built is now up for auction.
First shown in 2019 as the Lightyear 1, the Lightyear 0 was to be the production version.
It was canceled in 2023 after Lightyear's operating company filed for bankruptcy.

Step back in time a few years to the roaring teens—2019 to be exact. Electric cars were on the cusp of mainstream popularity and among them was the Lightyear 1, a sleek prototype sedan from the Finland-based upstart Lightyear. Along with standard charging capabilities, it could draw power from the sun thanks to a plethora of solar panels. Then came 2020 and well, you know what the world's been like ever since.

The Lightyear 1 prototype became the Lightyear 0 production car with a $250,000 sticker price, then production suddenly ended in 2023 shortly before Lightyear's operating company, Atlas Technologies, filed for bankruptcy. However, the original car still exists and you can imagine our surprise when it showed up on Troostwijk Auctions in the Netherlands just a few days ago. As of our post on September 10, the bidding stands at 13,500 euros, which equates to approximately $14,900. The auction closes at the end of September so there's still plenty of time for the price to climb higher.

Lightyear 0

Troostwijk Auctions

Lightyear 0

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What will the winning bidder get? The car is listed as chassis number 1, apparently fully functional with a top speed of 160 km/h (100 mph) and a WLTP range of 388 miles from a 60.0-kilowatt-hour battery pack. If that sounds familiar, it's the same figures Lightyear promoted when production of the Lightyear 0 was announced. That goes for the estimated 11,000 kilometers (6,835 miles) of solar-charged driving captured through the panels. In theory, provided you live in a nice, sunny location, one could do an average daily commute without needing a plug-in charger for months.

A quick visit to Lightyear's website (yes it still exists) shows the company is now working on solar charging technologies for automobiles. The Lightyear 0 and the proposed Lightyear 2—a considerably less expensive vehicle envisioned to take on the Tesla Model 3—are long gone. As far as we can tell, the car up for auction here could be the only example of its kind in the world.

Lightyear 0