Welp, I threw a preorder in on an Aptera.
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I said elsewhere on the Hyphen that while I thought Aptera's claims were possible, I wanted to wait for them to be proven IRL... but even if they miss their estimates by a lot, it'll still be incredibly impressive.
And, honestly, the full solar setup is quite appealing, being in an apartment and having a 10 mile round trip commute. (I fully expect I'll have to charge occasionally in winter, and maybe charge at my destination on road trips.)
And it's only $100 that I'm out if the company completely crashes and burns. (Which isn't unlikely.)
And it has an optional tent to camp in it, so, screw it, I threw this preorder in on Friday:
It's not exactly the electric vehicle I actually want, but frankly it's the closest thing to what I want that I can see existing.
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@bhtooefr I hope they can bring a product to production. Thier prototype work, going back nearly 15 years now, has always been interesting, futuristic in the right way (IMHO), and unique.
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Elio is still around, then?
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@mm54 ...somehow, someone's still paying the hosting bill on the Elio website.
(Aptera actually predates Elio, although this incarnation of the company doesn't.)
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Aptera does make some cool videos. I could see myself driving one.
Does it off-road, though? That's the important question.
(Update: and holy cow, it's actually affordable. Hmm.)
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@bhtooefr you can have that I’ll take a Nobe
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@just-jeepin ...one of the options is a factory lift kit and tougher wheel covers, specifically for off-road.
And 3WD is available.
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@just-jeepin if those wheel skirts come off easily I bet I’d actually be pretty good off road
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@hfv Oh God, I want one of those so badly. It doesn't fit my needs at all, but I don't care, it could be a fine second or third car. Not doing a preorder though, I need to see proof that its actually being made and going on sale before I bite
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@hfv said in Welp, I threw a preorder in on an Aptera.:
you can have that I’ll take a Nobe
The Nobe’s are so nice looking. I’d drive a small retro future electric everyday if I could have one.
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@bhtooefr It’s like buying a lottery ticket. It’s an affordable ticket to dream. And maybe the dream will come true.
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@bhtooefr Very interesting, thanks for bringing this to my attention. I'd have to drive up 6 floors in my parking deck, but then it could solar charge during the day. My biggest question would come down to safety, but it's already more stable than me taking a corner on a motorcycle . . .
Also, the more I think about, the more amused I am by the idea of these becoming popular, and the top floor of parking decks in cities becoming prime parking spots that fill up first.
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I dunno, I am super intrigued if Aptera can pull it off, but the 1000km on solar range thing seems a little far fetched to me considering current BEVs at the largest range can only go 700-something kms. Unless those are damn efficient solar cells and the car is REALLY light, I can't see how it carries enough batteries and would get enough of a charge from the cells to go that distance.
I'm hoping to be proven wrong, but I wondering it the range is being exaggerated a little....and we'll see if it comes to fruition or not!
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Was just looking up details and found this little video:
https://cleantechnica.com/2020/12/05/aptera-shows-off-its-development-vehicle/ -
You would absolutely amazed at how much simple rolling resistance can decrease range in an EV.
Given how narrow those tires are, and combined with that hilariously small frontal area, I can see how they would be apt to claim such range figures.
Now, how much real-world testing have they done in order to back up those claims? Modeling and calculations are only going to give a partial picture.
I loved their original concept from way back. At the time it was so far out there it might as well have been from the future. I was just gutted when they failed and absolutely pissed at the former staff for destroying all their molds. I am glad to see them back and while I seriously doubt they will succeed this time, I still want for them to do so.
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I wouldn't mind those flinging themselves on public roads at all! They look exactly as I imagined the future would. How long do you suspect it'll take before you know if the Aptra will tackle the roads or crash and burn?
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@rallydarkstrike they’re only claiming 40 miles from a day of solar charging, I believe.
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@rallydarkstrike said in Welp, I threw a preorder in on an Aptera.:
I dunno, I am super intrigued if Aptera can pull it off, but the 1000km on solar range thing seems a little far fetched to me considering current BEVs at the largest range can only go 700-something kms. Unless those are damn efficient solar cells and the car is REALLY light, I can't see how it carries enough batteries and would get enough of a charge from the cells to go that distance.
I'm hoping to be proven wrong, but I wondering it the range is being exaggerated a little....and we'll see if it comes to fruition or not!
They are going for really light - their claimed weight target is 1800 lbs for the 60 kWh battery (with 600 miles, not 600 km) range, and the 1000 mile range claim is on a 100 kWh battery.
And, of course, that range is a function of weight, aerodynamic drag (which looks to be incredibly low), and powertrain efficiency (hub motors will reduce some losses in gearing, but as I believe they're using surface permanent magnet outrunners, increase losses elsewhere in magnetic inefficiencies, relative to something like what Tesla is using).
All of this is independent of the charge rate provided by the solar cells, which determines how much range is restored in a day in the sun, not the total range (well, it may add a bit to total range if you're driving while it's sunny). That's claimed to be more like 10-40 miles a day depending on where you are and what time of year it is. (...ignoring what happens if the car is shaded or covered in snow, or if the car's efficiency is reduced by winter conditions. So, I fully expect to have to plug it in occasionally in winter.)
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@taylor-martin Well, given that they're planning on entering production next year?
I'll throw in a guess of... the end of 2022 is when they crash and burn if they don't get anything on the road by then. (I also would be pleasantly surprised if they actually do deliver anything in 2021, although they say they'll let reservation holders know about the delivery schedule in early 2021.)
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Was just looking it up a lot. If they do pull it off, it'll be a damn cool piece of kit.....but I'm going to wait and see what happens! Impressed with it though, if they can manage to get it into production in a reasonable amount of time!
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@adabofoppo said in Welp, I threw a preorder in on an Aptera.:
You would absolutely amazed at how much simple rolling resistance can decrease range in an EV.
Given how narrow those tires are, and combined with that hilariously small frontal area, I can see how they would be apt to claim such range figures.
Now, how much real-world testing have they done in order to back up those claims? Modeling and calculations are only going to give a partial picture.
I loved their original concept from way back. At the time it was so far out there it might as well have been from the future. I was just gutted when they failed and absolutely pissed at the former staff for destroying all their molds. I am glad to see them back and while I seriously doubt they will succeed this time, I still want for them to do so.
I wonder if they've done any winter testing. If they pulled it off, it's one of few EVs I would actually want, but no word on sales in Canada or how it handles cold climates yet!
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Cold obliterates battery range. I am also suspicious of how big a battery pack they can actually fit in that shell, so if it's too small they might avoid cold climates.
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@adabofoppo There'll be different battery options, but the biggest one is a 100kwh pack:
Yeah the thing that kills batteries in cold climates is needing to use things like a heater
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@adabofoppo It's been said that this 2019 rendering is of the packaging of their 60 kWh pack:
...the cargo floor looked pretty high, I almost wonder if they're just extending the pack back on the 100 kWh cars.
In other news, though, I noticed this thing when I was looking for that rendering:
...that's a Tesla connector.
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@bhtooefr
Didn't Tesla free-ware their patents on charging and connector design?
