A Solar Car Inspired by Manisa’s Own Tarzan
Oguzhar Yalcin, a student at the University of Celal Bayar in Manisa, Turkey, explains the inspiration for his team’s solar car at Shell Eco-marathon Europe 2012 in Rotterdam.
The car is named for the “Manisa Tarzan,” the environmentalist Ahmet Bedevi, who is legendary for his work in the first half of the last century planting thousands of trees on Mount Spil, or Mount Sipylus in Manisa. Known by some as the “first environmentalist of Turkey,” Bedevi raised awareness of the need for protection of the Earth’s resources and remains a revered figure for the people of Manisa.
The Celal Bayar team, called EcoMagnesia, is one of 13 teams from Turkey entered in the fuel efficient car competition, only one of them running on gasoline. Six of the Turkish student vehicles were hydrogen-powered, three were plug-in electric, two were solar and one ran on GTL, or natural gas-to-liquid diesel fuel.
