Wind-powered vehicles have traditionally been associated with seafaring vehicles that, until the advent of steam engines, relied primarily upon winds which were used to drive the sails of such vehicles to their destinations. However, terrestrial sail-based wind propulsion in the form of land sailing and land windsurfing are also popular recreational activities. Wind-powered electric vehicles primarily use wind-turbines installed at a strategic point of the vehicle, which are then converted into electric energy which causes the vehicle to propel.
A terrestrial wind-powered electric vehicle includes Ventomobile. The “Ventomobile” is a solely wind powered lightweight three wheeler. This design is used by Mercedes-Benz Formula Zero, as well as the Greenbird. Greenbird currently holds a world record for fastest Wind powered vehicle. This vehicle is designed and piloted by “Richard Jenkins”, which broke the land speed world record for a wind-powered vehicle in 2009.
It is described as a “very high performance sailboat” which uses solid wing, rather than a sail, to generate movement. The shape of the craft, especially at such high speeds, the wings also provide lift; which is a useful trait for an aircraft, but very risky for a car. To reimburse for this, the designers have added small wings to "stick" the car to the ground, in the same way as Formula 1 cars do.
Greenbird weighs 600kg when it's standing still. However at speed, the effect of the wings makes her weigh just over a tone. Greenbird broke world record while reaching the amazing speed of 126.1 mph (202.9 km/h or 109.6 knots) on the hard-pan of the Nevada desert in 2009, which was previously held by American Bob Schumacher, who hit the speed of 116 mph back in 1999 on his vehicle Iron Duck. Jenkins spent 10 years to design Greenbird.
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