A production model of the Lightyear 0 "solar car" with a range of over 300 miles has been discovered.

It was 2019 when Dutch EV startup Lightyear first unveiled its concept for a sleek sedan with in-wheel motors and solar panels on the hood and roof.

On Thursday, the company unveiled a production version, confirmed as the Lightyear 0. Production will begin in the fall and the first customers will receive it in November.

The 0 will be powered by a 60-kilowatt-hour battery, which the company claims will give it a range of 388 miles in the WLTP test cycle used outside of the U.S.

The 0 will also be available in the U.S. and Europe.

The key to achieving such a long range with such a small battery is efficiency. The drag coefficient is claimed to be less than 0.19Cd, which is a record for a production car (the lowest is 0.20Cd for the Mercedes-Benz EQS).

The use of an in-wheel motor allowed the elimination of the transmission and driveshaft, saving weight and space. The car weighs 3,472 pounds, which is relatively light for a five-passenger EV. In addition, the tires are a specially designed skinny set developed by Bridgestone.

The car's efficiency is estimated at 10.5 kwh per 62 miles, approaching the efficiency of Mercedes' experimental concept Vision EQXX, which used 8.7 kwh per 62 miles in recent real-world testing.

But what about the solar panels, which Lightyear says line the hood and roof with roughly 53 square feet of solar panels that, when fully exposed to sunlight, can charge the car to 1.05 kwh, or enough to add 6.2 miles of range in an hour? The company says that with enough sunlight, it can recharge the battery enough to add 1.05kw, or 6.2 miles of range in an hour.

In other words, once the battery is fully charged, the Lightyear 0 as a commuter vehicle could potentially run for months without needing recharging, depending on commute time and access to sunlight.

The first 150 cars were special Pioneer Editions, priced at 150,000 euros (about $159,000), which sold out. The next series will be a limited edition starting at 250,000 euros ($265,000) which can be ordered now. Lightyear has not said whether the 0 will be sold in the United States.

Production will be outsourced to Finland's Valmet Automotive, which built the original Fisker Karma sedan and is also contracted to build another EV, the Sono-Sion, which can be charged by solar panels.