Even with the best electric cars, charging time is still something of an issue. No matter how fast a new model is, it's never as fast as filling up on gasoline. But what if you could charge while driving?

The Lightyear One prototype is one such car, which uses solar panels to charge its 60 kWh battery pack. And in its latest circuit test, it managed to sustain the battery for a very impressive 441 miles.

Initially, Lightyear One promised a range of 450 miles, but the relatively small size of the battery led some to be skeptical. However, the fact that it hit the 441-mile mark without having to stop and recharge shows that Lightyear is definitely doing things the right way.

The test was conducted at the Aldenhofen Test Center in Germany, where the car traveled at 53 mph. Lightyear CEO Lex Hoeflsoot told Elektrek that the entire test took almost 10 hours, as the drivers changed every two hours and the car itself ran for just under nine hours.

Interestingly, the solar panels themselves did not play a major role in Lightyear One's durability. Lightyear claims that the panels can provide up to 45 miles of range on a sunny day, but the test was conducted on a "slightly cloudy day," which naturally affected the recharge rate.

According to Hoeflsoot, the panels generate about 3.4 kWh, which equates to about 25 miles. If the weather had been a little better, Lightyear One might have exceeded 450 miles. Nevertheless, the fact that the battery has traveled approximately 416 miles is incredibly impressive. It was even more impressive than the company's own expectations.

"In these early runs, it definitely exceeded our expectations," Hoeflsoot told Elektrek. 'There are still things we can improve on: aerodynamics, powertrain, brakes, suspension, etc.' So we are very happy with these early results. It was cool to see that our vehicle performance model did a good job in predicting these results."

But this is not the end of the story, as CEO Lightyear explained. "At the same time, it provides valuable input for improving the model and fine-tuning it with respect to crosswinds, braking, and ambient temperatures. For example, it was quite windy on the circuit and we saw deviations from the predictions from our model"

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This test is a big step forward because it shows how far an electric car can go with a fairly small battery. All that is needed is to concentrate on energy efficiency and making every kWh run as far as possible. Doing so will not only increase the overall range of the vehicle and reduce the number of times it needs to be recharged, but also reduce the cost of long-distance vehicles. This is because batteries are expensive, and making them smaller means that the final price can be reduced somewhat.

The Lightyear One will undergo further fine-tuning before a limited release of 946 units early next year. However, the mass-marketed Lightyear will have to wait several years until 2024.