By Vassilios Della Cioppa | Published 4/5/2022
Highlights
Aptera may change the way the world travels.
No charging station? No problem.
Where will you go with a vehicle that fuels itself from the Sun?
Intro
How does having a vehicle that is safe, sexy, environmentally friendly, and has a range of 1,000 miles sound? What about never having to recharge or refuel again? Well, if your daily commute is around 40 miles or less and you live in a place with decent Sun exposure, you may want to look into buying an Aptera Solar Electric Vehicle. With a starting price of only 25k, it will be hard to overlook.
Born in San Diego and built in Carlsbad, California, Aptera’s stated mission is clear: “Create the most efficient transportation on the planet,” and they plan to do this by “building lightweight and aerodynamic vehicles powered by the Sun that are able to handle most daily driving needs completely off the grid.”
The founders, Chris Anthony, and Steve Fambro, originally started their company in 2006 with a different vehicle, but the financial crises that hit in 2008 put Aptera on the back burner until 2019 when the founders revamped Aptera as a solar electric vehicle (sEV) brand.
Aptera now has a four-phase development process:
Alpha — Early prototypes to validate their basic design and engineering.
Beta — Test mules used to integrate production parts and evaluate dynamic and transient vehicle behavior.
Gamma — Production-intent vehicles used to iron out final production details.
Delta — Production vehicles for customer deliveries.
Since its relaunch in 2019, they have 16,000+ reservations, with more being added every day. While they are still in the Beta phase, they are moving quickly, and deliveries are expected to start by the end of 2022.
So far, here is what we know about the: exterior, interior, options, technology, performance, and costs.
Exterior
Many may think the Aptera is classified as a car by its looks, but technically it’s an autocycle, giving it a few advantages over a traditional 4-wheeled vehicle.
The Aptera’s futuristic teardrop egg shape “allows Aptera to slip through the air using 30% of the energy compared to other electric and hybrid vehicles on the road today.” The vehicle is incredibly aerodynamic, lightweight, and has a unique ergonomic design, making it stronger, faster, and sure to catch everyone’s eye.
People are simply going to either like or dislike the futuristic shape of the Aptera, but the interior is somewhat already familiar and will be pleasing to most.
Interior
When I see the Aptera's Beta interior colors, materials, and finishes, I think of a Tesla mixed with a high-tech cockpit, like in flying car prototypes. The company will have production versions done this summer and is dialing in a distinctive, sleek, ergonomic inside.
Colors:
Steering Wheel:
Half Wheel or “yoke” style.
Driver Display:
15” Touchscreen.
Vision Assist System:
Screen in front of the yoke steering that will display the video feed from the side mirrors and other performance data, day or night.
The main highlights of the March update provided new info on the addition of the half yoke steering wheel and the subtraction of the dedicated side mirror monitors in the picture above.
Options
When building your Aptera, there are a few different configurations to match your wants/needs/price point.
Exterior Colors:
Luna Silver, Sol White, Noir Black, or Custom.
Battery Range:
250 Miles, 400 Miles, 600 Miles, and 1,000 Miles.
Solar Packages:
Solar Roof + Dash Included, Solar Hood, Solar Rear Hatch, or All Panels.
Drive Systems:
Front-Wheel Drive System Included, or All-Wheel Drive System.
Interior Colors:
Coast, Codex, Vida, or Custom.
Limited Edition Upgrades
Safety Pilot:
Travel is easy as Aptera drives itself to your location with Level 2 autonomy capability, including facial tracking, lane keep, adaptive cruise, and emergency braking.
Enhanced Audio:
An extra three channels of audio brings great sound depth along with an added lightweight transmission-line subwoofer for accurate and deeper bass response.
Camping Kit:
The integrated tent and rear awning gets you out in the wild but keeps you cozy inside. Also includes a tail cover and step stool for easy entry.
Pet Kit:
Pet divider with the ability to safely secure your friend during driving, accessories including water bowl, bags, and rear cover and ladder.
Off-Road Kit:
More ground clearance and tougher wheel covers so you can take your Aptera off-road.
With all these excellent options, Aptera will surely fit many people’s needs, but some may want it for its impressive performance.
Performance
The Aptera is fast, quiet, and safe like most electric cars, but it will perform far more efficiently in all areas and possibly surpass most EV competition in sales/preorders within the next couple of years.
Electric Motors:
Instead of having a central motor with a drive shaft and axel shafts that come out to the wheels, the motors are inside the wheels themselves, producing about 50 kW each.
Acceleration and Max kW Output:
All-Wheel Drive: 0-60 3.5 sec (150 kW)
Front-Wheel Drive: 0-60 5.5 sec (100 kW)
Top Speed:
100+ mph with a limit of 110 mph.
Drag Coefficient:
Aptera: (0.13), about the same as a 1-foot square cube pushing through the air. For comparison, Tesla Model 3: (0.23).
Suspension and Breaking:
Still being calibrated but can be seen at work during testing in the following link:
Electric Power-Assisted Steering:
Will enable autonomous driving in future updates.
“Autonomous driving is going to be one of our biggest points in the future and the electric power steering is going to be a huge player in us doing that.” - Brian Homsangpradit, Lead Chassis Engineer
Safety:
Aptera will be tested to exceed all appropriate FMVSS and NHTSA standards. It has the highest roof crush strength of any passenger car on the road: strong enough to support two fully grown elephants (22,000+ pounds).
The performance of the Aptera is exciting, but the main feature that will attract people is the unique way it can gain power/fuel.
Right Image: Full Panel Options (40+) miles per day solar charging.
Left Image: Included Panels Only (16+) miles per day solar charging.
Charging
The Aptera gains fuel from two primary sources: traditional plugin or continuous charging technology harnessing the Sun's power. It can also generate some energy from the regenerative braking system as well.
Solar Panels:
The solar panels Aptera has developed are very impressive. The monocrystalline powder cells are elastic enough to fit all the vehicle's curves, are built to last for more than ten years, and can still work even when shattered with almost no loss of power conversion.
“Eliminate the worry of finding charging stations. Aptera’s unique diamond-shaped solar panels maximize the energy you get from the Sun. This gives fully equipped vehicles 700 Watts of continuous charging power — whether you’re driving or parked.” - Aptera
Battery:
The Aptera uses 2170 cells (same as Tesla Model 3) but has a unique way of bonding them, managing them thermally, and for voltage impedance over time.
Now that you’re hooked, be prepared to be shocked by how reasonable the price is.
Cost
Going through the current available options for reservations on their website, I made two configurations: the most affordable and the most expensive.
Most Affordable Configuration Total: $25,900
Luna Silver, Sol White, Noir Black Exterior Colors: Included
250 Miles Range: $25,900
Solar Roof + Dash: Included (+16 miles daily solar charge capacity)
100 kW Front-Wheel Drive System: Included (5.5 sec 0 - 60 mph)
Coast, Codex, and Vida Interiors: Included
Most Expensive Configuration Total: $54,500
Custom Exterior Color: $1500
1,000 Miles Range: $44,900
All Solar Panel Options: $900 (+40 miles daily solar charge capacity)
150 kW All-Wheel Drive System: $2,500 (3.5 sec 0 - 60 mph)
Custom Interior: $900
Safety Pilot: $1300
Enhanced Audio: $600
Camping Kit: $600
Pet Kit: $300
Off-Road Kit: $1000
Investment Opportunities
Yes, you can also invest in Aptera!
Minimum investment: $1,000
Share price: $9.20
The Future
Aptera has recently acquired an 80,000 sq building in Carlsbad, California, for manufacturing and assembly for the next phases of development, with customer deliveries expected to start by the end of 2022.
The vision for Aptera goes beyond one vehicle but a series to hit all auto market categories to help make the world a healthier and more sustainable place for us all to live. “In addition to our launch series, our future plans include mainstream autonomous capable 6-passenger cars, 2-seat commuters, and utility vehicles up to 18-wheelers.” Who knows, maybe they’ll even add a flying Aptera to the lineup.
For the most up-to-date news, go to Aptera News or one of their socials:
Conclusion
Aptera is what the people need, want, and have been waiting for. This amazing vehicle will pull people from all areas: commuters, explorers, race track enthusiasts, and beyond. The possibilities are endless when your vehicle has the ability to power itself, and it will be exciting to see what people make of it.
So the only question left now is what color will you get?
*ALL INFO & PICS FROM APTERA.US*
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