As you may have heard, Dutch EV startup Lightyear succumbed to bankruptcy back in January. The bankruptcy came shortly after production of Lightyear’s first model, the 0, commenced. A €250,000 ($277k) solar-assisted EV, the 0 was never going to gain significant consumer interest. After all, there are only so many people willing to fork out a quarter of a million euro on a 174 hp sedan. Hence production was limited to 946 units, however that was arguably a rather ambitious figure in itself.
More interesting was Lightyear’s planned mass-market vehicle, the 2. Lightyear promised it would start at €40,000 ($44,390) and have over 500 miles of range (thanks in part to sleek aerodynamics and a solar-paneled roof). Of course, production of the 2 was heavily reliant on Lightyear filling all 946 build slots for the €250k 0.
Lightyear ran out of money several weeks after production of the 0 began, however a restructuring effort was announced back in April. The new entity, Lightyear Technologies, employs just 100 people. For reference, Lightyear employed 600 at its peak back in late 2022.
With production of the 0 now unlikely to resume, Lightyear will focus solely on the significantly more affordable 2. The new venture will rely heavily on external investment, and selling off assets, to ensure production can begin. Hence you can now buy a Lightyear 0 prototype for a fraction of the production car’s selling price.
Currently, a Lightyear 0 show car is for sale on the Dutch bidding site Troostwijk Auctions. Bidding is currently at €32,000 ($35,510) and is set to close on Monday. Being a show car, it has a top speed of just 12 mph and is not road legal. Still, at least it looks legit. And given several partially constructed prototypes, battery packs and motors are also up for grabs perhaps you could make it drivable – albeit with a lot of effort.
