Aptera Is Now Accepting Orders for Their Three-Wheeled Car, With Videos
The last time the three-wheeled Aptera was featured on our site, we promised to keep you abreast of any new information that we found. Thanks to a tip from a reader named Matthew, we are pleased to let you know that Aptera is now accepting orders. Aptera has a Web site here, but there is not a great deal of information or raw-data to be found there. A better source of information is at their MySpace page, which is here. According to this article, Aptera is looking at around 300 miles per gallon along with acceptable performance numbers of about 11 seconds to sixty with a 95 mile per hour top-speed. Totally suitable for a commuter, wouldn't you say? Selling for less than $30,000 each, I can imagine that there would be quite a few takers. Other cool features of the car are the 360 degree visibility afforded by rear-mounted cameras and a solar powered air-conditioning system which will run on sunny days even when the car is turned off, keeping the vehicle comfortable. Awesome!
Weighing 850 pounds unloaded due to the composite structure, the hybrid diesel/electric Aptera should be classified as a motorcycle in most states. Looking very much like a "clipped" airplane, the name seems rather fitting; Aptera means "wingless" in Greek. We look forward to bringing you more information on this machine as soon as we can get it. Click past the break for a few videos of the machine in action!
For more on this new vehicle, be sure to check out our recent interview with Steve Fambro of Aptera!
Update: we've added a photo gallery. Click through to see the world's coolest pedals.
Gallery: Aptera
Related:
[Source: Aptera via a tip from Matthew - thanks!]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
Lyle 11:49AM (3/03/2008)
Hi - - I just want dimensions. How high long and wide is it??
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sam 4:16PM (3/17/2008)
Well it's a nice start, but unfortunately its only a commuter car, and it's ugly. Its like the engineers at Aptera copied all of it's fluid dynamics from the evolutionary design of a sperm. I realize that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but the people who push these things often forget its not their eyes that matter, its the shallow minded, big body loving, SUV worshiping and status symbol obsessed public that matters.
South Park hit the nail on the head when describing the demographic that will blow $60,000 on a hybrid as the overly smug eco-zealots. Who hilariously forget that carbon released by burning cheap coal exceeds the amount released by burning expensive fuel. I see attacking emissions on cars as next to useless, its the primary energy sources that need to be made clean and affordable, until then you've only pushed the problem out of sight out of mind, and in the case of many hybrids only made the problem worse.
For the first generation to sell at $29,000 I must applaud you, but is that low enough, and with hybrid motors and batteries how low can you get? Is it an inferior good? Not yet I am guessing, but with gas prices on the rise it might get there.
In any case it's a good start, but the problems long from fixed, I mean you basically reinvented a safer, more comfortable version of the motorcycle, its simply a small aerodynamic people mover and small baggage mover. I think the average person was expect something that looked more like a Honda civic. Now if Aptera decided to sacrifice some of that 230 MPG for a better looking form, thats something I'd also applaud. Most of the people I have shown this car to have laughed when they should have been astonished. It would sell more in the beginning and would hook a lot more people into that market as well as wean the zeitgeist off of the gas guzzlers faster in the long run rather than sell to the few people in America who tend toward utility rather than the majority of sheeple who tend toward the popular social icons of wealth. In the end if your not focused on appealing to humans selfish nature then your not going to win, or in this case while doing something monumental selling up front the most efficient product isn't always the most efficient way to reaching your own personal ethic of having the overall consumer reach your goal of efficiency. Don't forget the big picture.
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troy nall 12:07AM (3/18/2008)
30K ? are you joking ? this is the single most reason why the average person cannot afford a car like this !!! and people who can afford a 30K car will by something more suitable to their social caste. lets face it. Our economic system has favorites. This will be a car with FIVE minutes of FAME and then big oil/automotive industry will push it under the rug. Example, EV1. Saturn's prototype but it was "pushed" under the rug AND then dragged and then final crushed. See the movie "Who killed the Electric Car?" movie for details.
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VentanaRanch 10:58PM (4/18/2008)
According to the website and the answers that I was emailed directly from the company regarding turbulence and crosswinds, the Aptera's aerodymanics have been designed so that the wind- either cross winds or an 18 wheeler passing has very little effect on the vehicle. Also, the small engine configuration does include a catalytic converter. Pesonally, I applaus them for thinking outside the box, all these other car makers are building these cars they want to call "hybrids" and slap a hefty price tag on them and they do not get near the mileage (ie: 40-60mpg) for the extra cost. Heck, if a peson can afford to pay big bucks for a car, then they can afford to buy fuel too, so what is the point? I drive 100 miles round-trip a day and drive a car that gets about 35 mpg. I would sure consider getting an Aptera if/when they start selling them here. I am waiting to have them nail down the warranty and battery life and some of those questions. Skepticism is a good thing, negativity is not. Glass half full for me.
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William 7:18PM (9/28/2007)
Acutally, the site has a awesome photo gallery on the last page. A pain to get to due to the, uh, different and slow website but worth it. Most interesting is the reservation page with information on it.
William
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mike 7:35PM (9/28/2007)
This thing looks like it will fly, no, literally.
Is there enough Down-Force to keep it on the road?
I love aero-cars, what's it's coefficient of drag?
( Probably should go to the web site. )
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mike 7:48PM (9/28/2007)
Looks good.
It's a prototype right? because right now it's pretty noisy.
But, 300mpg sounds peerless.
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Ryan 11:09PM (9/28/2007)
I'm sure it has been engineered pretty well so that it has sufficient down-force to maintain good handling, but not so much as to cause unnecessary friction with the road (which would decrease the gas mileage).
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shmuupy 4:12AM (9/29/2007)
that website is the worst experience I have ever had.
it has no info at all. no contact info, no management info, no specs. nothing.
but it does lead you to a page to give them $500. I think this is a total scam. its at least a stupid company.
the car looks nice, too bad its probably BS
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Snowdog 6:22PM (9/29/2007)
Most craptacular web site ever. This shows the company to be out of touch with reality.
Interesting ideas are a dime a dozen. What matters in the end is execution. I wouldn't trust a company that can't produce an even marginal web page to execute the details of a new ground up designed transportation device.
I could understand if they didn't have time/money for a web page and just made something simple with the information but that is not the case. They actually spent more time/money building this monstrously bad web page.
Ignoring the page for a moment to comment on the car. 300MPG. Yeah right. Another bullshit/meaningless claim involving an unrevealed plug-in range component.
Don't trust anyone who reports MPG rating by including an undocumented amount of plug in range. The only sane way to report a PHEV mileage is to separate them out. As in the Volt with 40 Mile electric range and 50MPG ICE MPG.
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Jay 7:38PM (9/29/2007)
Agreed: horrible web site.
If you persist, though, they have some good, although vague ideas about building a light weight and safe "car" with a space frame and composite skin emphasizing aerodynamics.
The link to the NC Times article lends a little credibility to the fact that the company exists and isn't just a scam. The videos show the test model actually driving around a parking lot too.
Don't focus on the "300 mpg" number too much. The car will be offered as a pure EV or a plug-in gas hybrid electric. If you use either one to commute, the MPG is effectively infinite. It's clear the company needs to raise a lot of money and design a better web site, but I like the basic concept a lot.
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Snowdog 11:06AM (9/30/2007)
I find "Infinite" worse than 300mpg. I want real honest numbers.
What is the electric only range?
What is the ICE MPG when the electric range is over?
Those require straight forward honest numbers. All the other gibberish is bullshit.
And battery life is not infinite. Tesla has specified a 100000 mile battery pack life and $40K price. 40K/100K = 40 Cents per mile operating cost. That is a brutal number, but at least it is honestly presented. BTW Compare that to a Hummer on Gas usage!
I like the concept of an ultralight, ultra aerodynamic vehicle as well, but I get extremely turned off by dishonest marketing speak and extremely poor execution on information presentation. Compare this crap web page and bullshit claims to the Tesla page where you get stark honest details without the crap.
If these guys want to actually bring something to market they will need to drastically improve their game. More than likely they need to bring in a lot of outside expertise, because right now they come across as a backyard project by some engineers entirely clueless about business.
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GoodCheer 12:49PM (9/30/2007)
I just want to share with this board the pre-press release email sent to those on the update list:
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
Dear Aptera Family,
Well, it's finally that time, the first Aptera typ-1 is complete! It's been a tough last couple of months for us here at Aptera: 7 day work-weeks, 18 hr days (and some 36 hr days!) And it's finally paid off. The vehicle is absolutely gorgeous and everyone here has done an outstanding job.
This is a significant event, because it represents the end of our R&D phase and the entry of our manufacturing phase. To celebrate, we had a little private launch party at Aptera HQ for employees, investors and key vendors. We'd like to share some pictures of that with you and let you k now (before we issue a press release) that the new website is up and running. In fact, we're now accepting fully-refundable pre-orders to reserve your production slot.
Now, let me tell you a little about the website. It's different, it's very different, but so are we. I don't want to spoil it, but it's not like a traditional car company website. On there you'll learn a lot of detail about Aptera in a neat, graphical way. You'll also see a video of the launch and pictures of this beautiful vehicle. It's been a long wait and I hope that you'll enjoy it.
So, I encourage you to help us plan our production schedule and resources by reserving the Aptera that best suits you. Choose an all electric or plug-in hybrid. You'll find details about each at the website.
Thanks for waiting!
Regards,
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GoodCheer 1:01PM (9/30/2007)
My concerns with the vehicle are similar to many of those expressed on this board, I sent an email to them (at 10:30pm Saturday night) and received a reply within half an hour. Many of my questions were answered, some 'are still confidential' which I assume in most cases means either 'contracts with suppliers haven't been signed' or 'we need to do further testing'.
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
Hi GoodCheer,
Let me first thank you for your interest in Aptera. We took a bit of a gamble with the new style of website and not everyone likes it, that is clear. Based on the feedback we're developing a parallel site as quickly as possible that's simple and traditional.
As for your questions, the answers to most of those are still company confidential, but I'll try:
Q1: What is your battery chemistry?
A: It depends on whether it's plug-in hybrid or all electric :-)
Q2: Who makes them?
A: There are two US manufacturers.
Q3: How has battery durability been proved? (ie, charging cycles vs. capacity)
A: Yes. With rated DOD longevity exceeds most car powertrain warranties (much longer actually).
Q4: What is your battery capacity (kWh) for the electric and hybrid respectively?
A: ....not saying yet
Q5: What is the output of the hybrid generator (kW), and the electric motor?
A: 10 KW, 30 KW, respectively. The motor and generator are designed by two different US companies for us. The 3-phase motor produces 100 ft*lb of torque from 0 RPM to about 5000.
Q6: Many would want to know the displacement and configuration of the generator (eg, 900cc 2-cylinder).
A: Still confidential until I announce the MOU with the engine manufacturer.
Q7: What is the energy consumption (kWh/mile) in city and highway driving? I know motorcycles don't have to do EPA mileage testing, but many consumers will want to know numbers.
A: About 70W*h/mile.
Q8: What is the steady-state (ie, not charge depleting) mileage of the hybrid?
A: Depends on lots of variables, working to zero in on a common set of repeatable numbers.
I hope that helps!
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GoodCheer 1:24PM (9/30/2007)
A couple of things are very interesting here:
-70 Wh/mile is roughly 1/3 that used by the Tesla or EV1, and is (VERY roughly) consistent with 300mpg. [Gasoline contains ~30 kWh/gal]
One would not normally give credence to a number like that, but let us not forget that this is a VERY light car, and has drag numbers that probably embarrass anything else on the road. It also has (see Q5) about a 40hp motor which wouldn't be enough for a car of normal weight, but is probably adequate (but not fast) in something this light and slippery. Note also the ICE is only about 13hp.
Anywho, I'm pretty excited. Sorry for the multiple long posts.
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GoodCheer 1:30PM (9/30/2007)
A couple of things are very interesting here:
-70 Wh/mile is roughly 1/3 that used by the Tesla or EV1, and is (VERY roughly) consistent with 300mpg. [Gasoline contains ~30 kWh/gal]
One would not normally give credence to a number like that, but let us not forget that this is a VERY light car, and has drag numbers that probably embarrass anything else on the road. It also has (see Q5) about a 40hp motor which wouldn't be enough for a car of normal weight, but is probably adequate (but not fast) in something this light and slippery. Note also the ICE is only about 13hp.
Anywho, I'm pretty excited. Sorry for the multiple long posts.
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William 4:12PM (9/30/2007)
GoodCheer,
wow, you really got some good info on this thing. I can't stop checking the photos of the prototype. If you take the time to review them carefully, you can see the level of expertise that went into it. I disagree with doubting Snowdog on the level of his skepticism, but skeptical is good. Snowdog, why do they need to share all this stuff with YOU? are you going to buy one? have you ever started a company or brought a product to market? me neither but I can at least be interested. many aspects of any product are secret and this is only the launch of the prototype. give em time.
GoodCheer, did you order one?
William
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Snowdog 10:48PM (9/30/2007)
Free country[s]. They don't have to answer my questions, but AFAIK, I never asked them any. But I am free to comment on behaviors I don't like.
IMO claims of secrecy don't hold water when they publicly make claims of 300MPG. Also I don't know why people would give them money when there is ANY secrecy. There are fundamental questions about road legality in all states etc...
Even at 70Wh/mi you are really only looking at slightly over 100mpg (still good but more in line with expectations) because you still have to run an ICE to produce mechanical energy(lucky to hit 25% efficiency), run a generator to produce those watts. Breaking 100MPG (for real) will be a big deal. Breaking 300MPG is an obvious "exaggeration".
No I haven't started a company but I have read a lot about what it takes to get a car to market. This
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David Fox 1:35AM (10/01/2007)
Lots of good commentary on high mpg cars, inc. this one, at http://www.fev-now.com/index.php?page=230_mpg_aptera
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William 12:16AM (10/01/2007)
Snowdog, freedom rings.
this is NOT a car! again, not a 4 wheeled passenger AUTO. btw, check this:
http://www.cbs8.com/video/ and look for the jetsons style car feature (i know, they call it a car). the thing is r, e, a, l. (say it out loud;))
Every company has secrets. I hope they meet your "exaggeration" as you state.
as for legality, no way this will selll in 50 states... (snow?) but they don't have too! question: what state in the US has the strictest rules for motor vehicles? (*bonus points if you guess correctly the first time)
it is a choice for energy usage, not a CAR replacement.
btw, i don't know what AFAIK means.
William
ps. i hope you didnt give them any money
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