The Tour de Sol in

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

was the first rally for solar powered vehicles. It was carried out annually from 1985 to 1993. The first event started on June 25 in Romanshorn on the

Lake of Constance Lake Constance (german: Bodensee, ) refers to three bodies of water on the Rhine at the northern foot of the Alps: Upper Lake Constance (''Obersee''), Lower Lake Constance (''Untersee''), and a connecting stretch of the Rhine, called the Lake ...

, and finished on June 30 in

Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaki ...

. 72 vehicles started in two classes; over 50 finished. The vehicles were powered exclusively by direct onboard solar power in addition to an initial charge of the onboard accumulators. The second class also allowed direct human power with pedals. The rally was conceived as a kind of race with the winners being those using the least time to travel the set course each day. The course was on unclosed public roads and the drivers were required to adhere all traffic rules and speed limits. The first events were very popular with thousands of spectators lining the roads and visiting the camps where the vehicles stopped each day. In later years the fastest vehicles also raced on round-circuit closed-off courses each day after arriving at the stops. From 1990 the organisers also held separate events called Tour de Sol Alpine. These included closed courses on frozen lakes and snowy roads and on unclosed mountain passes. After a few years other organisers carried out similar rallies, e.g. the American Tour de Sol. In 1988 the Tour de Sol also held the first race for solar powered boats on July 1 at Estavayer-le-Lac. The Tour de Sol initially stipulated direct solar power from onboard

solar cells A solar cell, or photovoltaic cell, is an electronic device that converts the energy of light directly into electricity by the photovoltaic effect, which is a physics, physical and Chemical substance, chemical phenomenon.Tour de Sol Publications including regluations, mainly German language
in Helveticat, Swiss National Library * German-language podcast of an interview with Josef Jenni in 2008

* In 2015 Swiss Radio celebrated the Tour de Sol 30th anniversary with two programs

* Short video of some Tour de Sol 1985 vehicle

* YouTube also has this and numerous other videos

* (American) Tour de Sol Report

See also