Dodge Viper and Ford GT engineer joins the Aptera development team
People make career changes all the time, but Neil Hannemann is definitely making an extreme one. Hannemann is joining electric vehicle builder Aptera as the new VP of program management and manufacturing. The Aptera is, of course, a lightweight, super aerodynamic, electric three wheeler. Hannemann is a veteran of the Detroit auto industry and was one of the leaders of the team that brought the original Dodge Viper from concept to production in the early nineties. After he left Chrysler, Hannemann moved on to Ford where he led the development team that created the GT, the fastest production model Dearborn ever built. After the GT program concluded, Hannemann decided he wanted to help change the face of transportation. At Aptera he will use his expertise in producing low volume extreme vehicles to help bring the Typ-1 to market.
[Soure: Popular Mechanics, thanks to Matt for the tip]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Throwback 8:10AM (4/23/2008)
Good pickup for Aptera. He has experience in building very desirable niche cars.
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Jason 5:11PM (4/23/2008)
I gotta admit, I didn't like the Aptera at first but now it's strangely beautiful to me. I hope they can bring it to market.
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KarenRei 3:11PM (4/23/2008)
He's a perfect match, too, having worked on other vehicles that have lightweight frames and composite panels.
Aptera has all the money they could ask for for the production phase. They have about as good of a production leader as they could ask for. Things are looking great for them beating the Volt to the market by a solid margin. I'm thrilled :) I can't wait for my chance to do a test drive this summer.
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GoodCheer 5:13PM (4/23/2008)
This does seem like great news. I continue to be very excited to hear about the progress of the Aptera project.
I know getting from a well-engineered prototype to production is much more complicated than a lot of people would think. It's nice to know that they have some additional experience in that department now.
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Richard 5:56PM (4/24/2008)
He is from Chrysler? Not impressed.
It will be exciting if someone from Toyota joins Aptera.
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