@@lsh3rdnot just a single charging stop, but those stops will be so fast that you get enough charge in the time it take you to take a dump and grab some food/drinks
Ehm, no. Notice how he pointed out solar panels are useless on a model 3? And how they are at best 2x more useful on the aptera? It was easy to miss because I guess you dont get invited if you press such matters too hard; but unless you take this thing grocery shopping once a week in california, youd better still find an outlet. But sure enough, your charging cost will be meaningfully lower due to its size and efficiency.
The Twike is wildly overpriced. I don't understand how that thing sells. Their marketing must work on a specific group of people in a way that I don't understand. Having said that, the Aptera has not sold any production vehicles yet. I can't think of any EV that sold for its "expected" price. We'll have to see.
they actually don't know what the price is nor will the guarantee the price on the website. considering the body panels are ten thousand dollars per the CEO when asked how much to replace them there is zero chance the prices on the website are meaningful
@@SolarWebsite from what I've seen Twike is hand built in single quantities and isn't really what one would call a production vehicle. It doesn't really have a marketing division and might be a semi hobby type of operation that just about pays for itself in that way. I live in their primary area right near the company and the only Twike I've ever seen is the one run by one of the guys who makes them. Government grants and such might be a contributing factor to small company's survival.
It’s not going to come anywhere close to its original target price. That was before they went with getting it built in Italy and shipped over to be finished. To be profitable they are going to price themselves out of the market. If they came to market in 2021/22 they might have made it.
What a crazy concept of making a electric vehicle actually very efficient and light. Instead of 5 ton, rolling refrigerator with huge tires and all kinds of rolling resist.
@@lawnmowerdude Let's not pretend like manufacturers aren't the ones _creating_ some of that appeal, though. It's hard to buy anything other than a massive truck when all that's available are massive trucks.
@@-NGC-6302- they resemble solar cars as were historically built for engineering contests of efficiency and paper (publication) generating material. Just adapted to minimally meet some safety requirements if they are sold as street legal.
I think one of my favorite things about this car is that the CEO planned (atleast on the older prototypes) to make the car modular. With QR codes on specific parts of the vehicle that link you to a video on how to replace said part step by step. They want people to be able to self repair their car and I think thats amazing.
I love the genuine appreciation at end with the disclaimer of no sponsorship or advertisement. I'm excited to see the company succeed at this as well! All the best Aptera ❤
Rob rives the car as an absolute madman, has a banana smile, and giggles like a kid the entire time; Chris M. reaction: another normal day at the office…
Unfortunately the channel is furthering an investment scam ... many of us early investors were promised our cars in 23 then they said end of 24. After that they launched another jump to the head of the line for 10k or more investment deal. Problem is they did this earlier with the paradigm model. They use channel to draw more people in to scam with false promises
Rob's assessment of the stability of this vehicle really speaks volumes, he knows a thing or two because he has seen a thing or two. Have you wrecked a twike?
The wide 2 wheels at the front instead of a single front wheel makes it much more stable. When you turn much of the rolling force is in the front, so having a single wheel in front makes it want to just keep rolling. Especially if you also hit the brakes which puts even more weight on the front. With the wider front from the 2 wheels it gives a far more stable platform.
@@NBSV1 I've got a buddy with a Can-Am whatever.. I think he's afraid of bikes. Tried to scare me. Didn't work. I've driven a few sidecar bikes. They are a challenge out the gate if you're used to leaning into turns and counter steering.
@@jimurrata6785 LOL! Top Gear had to rig the Robin to make it turn over in their videos. Robin took Reliant to the #2 manufacturing position in the UK back in the day, with around 1/2 million examples produced. It was hardly a failure.
What do you mean? Aptera is as old as Tesla, it went under, and same dude whose original idea it was, is now -again in charge. In its first go in 2008-2011 it had real funding, current iteration is crowdfunded... I think the 'hope' part is quite strong here.
I should point out that the current CEO was not at the helm when the company went under the first time. He left because he didn't like the direction they were heading and the way they were doing business
@@agingwheelsThanks for mentioning that. In another post I added that Aptera was out of business for 8 years before the original founders brought it back. So they had nothing to do with the earlier failure and in fact started over with a totally new version of their original design. I will add that the 2011 version failed right after the new CEO abandoned the original design and tried to build a traditional four wheeled car. I'm not saying that's the reason it failed, it was probably a desperation move to attract a government grant. But it did not work.
@@HVM_fi yeah tech wasn't ready yet when they initially launched, now the batteries are so efficient and cheap thanks to Tesla pressure that it's feasible
In a world where SUVs are becoming the norm and the transition to EVs seem to be producing mostly large and heavy vehicles with terrible handling feel, it is nice to see that someone is trying to do something light, fast and nimble again. I want my EV to drive like a go-kart because go-karts are fun.
I love how you can measure wall power at 10 miles per hour now. That sounds so wrong. "My wall power goes 10 mph!" "What? Where is it going?!" It's like some reverse "is your fridge running" joke. It's so absurd and I love it.
"about that 1015 mph ticket in a school zone, officer, the fact i went westward technically makes it legal in reference to earth's core"@AboveAverageMan97
Like in the movie Jumanji when they keep talking about their phones and the guy from the '80s that got locked in there goes, does the phone mean something different in the future?
At the risk of being anal, just to be clear, when Bob says "plugging in gives you '10 mph' ", he of course, NOT talking about 10mph speed. He is saying that for every hour your Aptera is plugged into a 110-120 VAC standard North American wall socket, the amount of charge received by the Aptera will amount to approximately 10 more miles of driving. (E.g. an overnight 10 hour charge on a wall socket will net you approximately an extra 100 miles of driving the next morning).
we just did a test in Australia roughly 1000klm trip using 2 identical 7 series bmw's 1 electric and 1 petrol. the electric cost more for the tip and over 2 hours slower waiting for charging not to mention the charger is plugged into the power grid to charge its just an illusion. only good for short city runs so you can charge at home to make it cheap using a slow charger to keep the costs down aint physic's a bitch
Not so. With a very light, efficient vehicle in a sunny climate, the solar charging will be a game winner. The folks in Abu Dhabi are really interested in this car. Here in the Southwest US, most people will literally be able to run off the solar power that feeds the battery for their daily driving. Aptera does not have to be a car for everyone for the company to be successful. I am praying that they are successful. I want an Aptera!
@@WonderProfessor To pray is not "doing something". Praying is begging for someone else to do something, I don't pray. I act. I have 3 on order since 2019.
I see another benefit to solar panels on top, which solves a big complaint anti-electric car people have. If you get stranded from electricity running out, you aren't entirely screwed. You could wait a few hours in the sun and be able to go a few more miles, or at least keep electricity inside running to help keep you cool or warm while you wait for help.
@user-iu4wh1zs6t Not sure why you're replying that on my comment. My comment was about the panels providing a way to not be completely stranded, which they would still do regardless of those things. Yes, it's not going to charge at night lmao, but it will charge some the next day, enough to get you out of wherever you are, is my point.
I wonder why the Tatra never caught on in the 1930's? Indeed, in the 1950's the US auto makers were still making some incredibly unaerodynamic shapes with poor drag coefficients instead of following the lead of Tatra.
@@TassieLorenzo Cost optimization. It make no sense cutting down on fuel consumption when the car become more expensive. Its also worth saying that the economic life of a car in the early to mid 1900ed was actually shorter than today, and the driving distance even more so. In 1930 there hardy existed any highways. But there is really just on highway you have large benefit of low drag. For a car that may have driven 30k miles before they was scraped, this was just not economical. In the 60s this number was up to about 50k miles. Its really only in the 90s and 00s that the number that a new car was expected to drive went over 100k miles. This change the dynamics and suddenly making more fuel efficient cars was quite a bit more realistic.
@@TassieLorenzo It's simple there was a time where fuel was so cheap that if you could afford a car then you can easily afford the fuel. There just was no incentive to reduce consumption.
Damn it, I've been following the progress of Aptera for years. Love the car, but it felt like the pregnancy that will never come to term. Then here you come, gushing legitimate, tangible, praise, and I'm all fired up again.
Me too, years and years, what was it 15 years ago or more I think. Looks like it might show up, but still seems like vaporware. I wish it was a 3-seater.
i know you said that this isn't an ad, but holy crap, your enthusiasm combined with the way this car would match my needs, I'm genuinely considering getting one of these to replace my hybrid whenever they come out. This was a great way to show them off! Thank you for making me aware of them
It'll be a few years out yet. As of right now they're only expecting the early model production late this year if they're lucky so consumers buying now likely won't get one for 3-5 years depending on how investors take the brand.
Im hoping there in full production by the time my sentra starts shacking itself apart. Im wanting something like this (well, not just something, this is literally the electric car I want) to replace my gas cars when she is at the end of her life.
Lots of enthusiasm, but remember this is the same guy who owns a Twike. His perspective on the practicality of vehicles is perhaps not the same as your average person. It has only two seats, the trunk is long but very flat so fitting groceries in there might be a challenge, I wouldn't be surprised if the heater is a pair of hair drivers bolted underneath the dash, and so on. These cars have been in development for so long it's kind of a joke. Personally, I'd love to buy one, especially if they by some miracle hit their price point and even more miraculously qualify for the Federal Tax Incentive. If those stars aligned you could walk out with them for probably $25,000 after taxes and whatnot. The problem then would be they would never be able to keep up with demand. It would be impossible to actually buy one because the line would be out the door, around the block, and next town over.
@@katmandomo they actually haven't been in development long. They only launched the brand in 2018. Tesla for example also took around the same amount of time to release the Roadster, and the Roadster reused an existing car's body. Plus Tesla got lucky with a random millionaire dumping all his money into a hostile takeover. Aptera hasn't been so lucky. And there's no shot the Aptera will get the tax incentive. They almost got it with the last revision of the EV incentive program but you should expect the incentives to either start going down or going away in the near future. The topic of EV incentives has been getting for more political recently and with the high odds of a right wing president this year, I expect these policies to go away more quickly (let's be honest, it's looking increasingly less likely the current president will win again). Again practicality is honestly decent. It's well known that the average car holds 1.5 people so the vast majority never haul a single person at all. I mean it says a lot with how many people buy cars when they say the back seats are either uncomfortable or unusable. Even in my family my mother has always had her own car for work and another for hauling the family. My dad used to also have a beater for work before he retired. If you already have a family car, there's nothing wrong with also having a commuter. Plus there are many younger or single people out there who basically never drive anyone. As for the hatch being high and flat, well just look at all pickup trucks. Most pickups anymore have beds nearly chest high. Really not a convenient place to be lifting things to. At least in this case it's more a similar height to most cars at about waist height. You can see so Aging Wheels video. And that was an early model that had the lip before the rear. The production model has the hatch go all the way to the rear.
@@Skylancer727 if I can lay my mountain bike down in the rear im happy. Thats honestly my only concern with the rear. I dont mind putting the front wheel in the other seat, its kinda what i already do. I really should up and buy a bike rack.
I love cars that focus entirely on one goal, particularly efficiency. Which is why I love my first gen Insight so much, because it's focus was essentially purely to be efficient, which, I think, is why the Apterra gives me such similar vibes. It's just taking that goal for efficiency even further, without being limited to late-90s car technology
@garethbaus5471 yeah, there's not a whole lot of them out there. I'm definitely glad I was able to pick mine up when I did. Somehow, the other Insight in my city lives two streets away from me though 😅
@BlueOvals24 It looks just as practical as an Insight to me. Both seat two people, have a similar hatch design (but the Apterra looks like it is a little deeper and likely has more storage space), and probably a similar maximum load capacity too (the Insight isn't supposed to take more than 365lbs including passengers). I've had mine for about 7 years, and it's never really been an inconvenience for me, but it’s far from a practical usable car for most people.
I want one based on looks alone. Coolest thing I've seen in years. I love the focus on efficiency too. That's the way forward. Colin Chapman: "Simplify, then add lightness". More true than ever before.
That's the biggest thing I am annoyed with about all thr electric cars. They are UGLY. This actually looks unique and futuristic. Not necessarily cool looking. But it's exactly what you would expect an electric car to look like.
@@JeronimoStilton14 If anything, this thing could potentially be safer than a Tesla in a crash, since the battery pack probably isn't a structural component, and thus won't bend and instantly enter explosive thermal runaway. If it is a structural component though, then its yet another EV less safe than a Pinto.
@@Avetho have there been any exploding teslas? Nevermind I just went and looked, there sure are lol. Also even if the battery isn’t a structural component, and even if it doesn’t have any catastrophic thermal runaway, there’s basically no room to crumple. I don’t care about the fire, I care about you surviving long enough for the fire to matter. In the video I believe it mentioned crash teating even though they don’t have to, and we shall have to see when it gets to that point how well these keep you safe. I’m frankly fairly onboard with this car.
@@JeronimoStilton14 Frankly, I'm rather on-board with this car too, since this is what EVs were supposed to be, they're pushed as energy efficient yet we get 5000 pound Teslas, giant Rivians and F150 Lightnings, leave cargo and passenger hauling to hybrids where the load makes the engine more efficient and give small city-going commuters efficient crash-tested and safe road-legal glorified waterproof e-bikes with road-going horsepower and AC. This car is basically just that, which is actually pretty awesome. I'd feel better knowing which battery chemistry they're using, and a lot more comfortable if we find out they're not using Tesla's chosen battery chemistry, their NCA batteries are the most volatile of all Li-ion out there for the lofty goal of the maximum energy density. The big issue with runaway in batteries is that Li-ion batteries like NCA and LiPO end up igniting if ever exposed to oxygen, and then they start burning their electrolyte which sets the lithium on fire and burns more electrolyte in a real jet of plasma from a puncture hole, a discharged battery pack probably has a similar energy density to an equally heavy full gas tank, in both cases if you burn it you get loads of thermal energy, just once. The tank can be refilled, the battery however just becomes a heavy lump of cooling slag. I've seen EVs go up in flames before, you've got maybe at most 5 to 10 seconds from seeing thick white smoke to run at least a dozen feet away from a Tesla before the fire bursts out and envelops the car and everything inside it. Those E-buses too are scary, one smokes for like 5 seconds and whoom its all on fire, then like 10 seconds later the bus beside it smokes and boom fire and it repeats down the line until all the buses are ablaze, its why one of the most scary man-made places to me right now is that Chinese EV graveyard, so many cars with batteries that could short out and go into runaway if they have any power left at all, and if a storm happens and something falls over, that whole area is going to burn for days and release putrid toxic smoke everywhere. It burns hot enough that it melts the body panels and glass in still air, that never happens in ICEs unless there's a decent wind flaring it up. Overall, I trust Aptera to make it right and make it safe, not sensational. If it had to be Li-ion, I'd make it LiFePO4, those batteries can be impaled at full charge and won't do more than a candle flame after the debris is removed.
My dad is always cold in general and has Renaud's disease, which makes his hands extremely cold. He got a Chevy Bolt and I thought he would be using the heated steering wheel all the time. He set the car for no HVAC on start and he never uses the heat, but he always feels warm in the car. We're in Vermont, so we do get serious weather. I'm rarely cold, but I do use the heat in my car and I also felt fine riding in his Bolt. Dad's best guess is the heat from battery conditioning bleeds through into the cabin. Thats probably going to be true in the Aptera too.
As a student captain of a high school solar car team, I want to A) thank your various EV related videos. The lawn mower battery conversion legitimately helped with us setting up our own BMS. B) state how shockingly similar the Aptera's layout and design is to the higher-end student competition cars. Three wheel designs are goated because of their lack of a differential and tapering profile.
I was crazy into the original Aptera designs back in 2008. When the company went under during the recession, I was pretty bummed. Seeing them come back like this has been very exciting, and I hope they get to full production.
Ha, when people compared Aptera to the Roadster in Tesla forums at the same time frame, I find that silly. Now with another go with the f*ing crowdfunding it's near insanity, it's your money, so do you like, but I give it as fat chance as NFTs...
@@HVM_fi To be fair, Tesla only survived because a multi-millionaire threw nearly all his money into a hostile takeover of the brand. Elon isn't wrong when he says the brand wouldn't exist without him, even after he took over they still barely made ends meet. Plus there's no risk in spending your money on Aptera, any reservation you make is refundable and they did refund everyone back in 2008. We have full reason to trust they'd do it again if they have to. And the crowd funding is literal investing. It's just closed stock exchange rather than being open to the entire market. They're not big enough to go public nor do they want investors changing the plans for their initial model. And NFTs were a literal scam. NFTs had about the same value to people as the art industry; basically things have value because I say so. Considering how little impact the art industry has on consumers with most not even going to free art museums, why would anyone have viewed NFTs any higher? I think it says a lot when the only people praising NFTs were the millionaires who are interested in the art industry.
@@brittburton3264 no they didn't. They only came back once. I think you might be confusing the fact that in the liquidation they made following their bankruptcy they sold the brand to a firm in China. It wasn't till 2019 they bought the brand back. There wasn't even any time for it to launch "multiple times" as they only liquidated in 2011 and came back in 2019. Plus the co-founders both have started other completely legitimate businesses. Chris Anthony founded Flux Power who are still a major battery supplier for electric forklifts and airport equipment. Steve Fambro has also worked in a vertical farming company called Famgro LLC and worked as the COO at the Ag Tech Group for Ocean Holding. I'd say the only iffy thing about anyone's history is Fambro who also worked at Unicoin a crypto currency brand.
This has to be the coolest most practical electric car I've ever seen. Most people may never have to even plug it in. There is a farmer that lives across the road from us who has an electric mini truck with a solar panel canopy. In 3 years he has never plugged it into an outlet and it's always ready when he is ready to go.
I'm guessing you dont live in cold climate then. On winter best part of the combustion engine is the extra thermal energy that can be pushed to cabin. In EV all that energy comes from battery and vehicles generally are not well insulated that might not be enough both range and heating capacity. Also if you get stuck on the side of the road for what ever reason ICE will keep you warm long as engine is running and if you have webasto you can keep car turned off and just use that to stay warm, while battery on EV runs dry rather fast. Also our roads would be horrid with this thing. Ice tends to form grooves on the road but this thing has its rear wheel smack on the middle. One corner and slight breaking probably drop rear into one of those gooves and getting out of that might become really god damn interesting. Yeah cant say i'm that optimistic about this thing.
Given how much of the US lives in hot climates, this car could still excel in that market. It's worth noting that given how efficient the car is, it's possible that it could use its power to heat the battery if they release an all season version. Also be realistic, how much of the ICE car owners actually owns a webasto or something similar? 5% 10%? I think your comments are being super unreasonable. I think the people behind this project are well aware all the problems it would face in the winter @@Hellsong89
@@Hellsong89 oh the other hand, it has never snowed in my city and it's always sunny. the clime control is still an issue, but on the opposite direction (for cooling), but the rest are non-factors.
Actually, they sadly had to push the price up a lot recently. Couple years ago they aimed at ca $25k entry price. But that has been consistent through the entire EV industry, cost getting a bit away from the start ups, unfortunately.
@@RoonMian You may be comparing their $25K base-model price (2WD, 250 mile range, limited solar) to their launch-model price (3WD, 400 mile range, full solar). After their first 2000 launch-models are delivered, they will start delivering their other configurations.
@AboveAverageMan97 as with many things, “wanting” and “getting” are entirely different. Sometimes even when you eventually GET it, it makes you wish you’d never even heard of it!! 😊
I put a reservation in for mine a few months ago. At the current projected rate of production (10k per year) it's going to be nearly 4 years before I can get mine. I really hope they ramp up production!
Actually the projected rate at full production capacity will be about 29K per year. I don't know how long it will take them to ramp up to that, but they are very insistent that they will be producing 40 cars per shift with 2 shifts per day soon after starting production. We won't know for sure until they're producing them but you'll probably get yours in closer to 2 years than 4 years
mad respect for your last discussion about motivations/lack of sponsorship/etc. that kind of transparency is super important (and I share your enthusiasm).
Back in the early 2000s, our Electric Auto Association chapter invited a guest speaker who competed in the Australian solar car race. These cars were completely solar powered, very flat and light. Their entire top half was hinged and opened so it could tilt up and face the sun at sunrise and sunset, thereby getting every single available photon! Very cool stuff. (And no, our speaker guest didn't win the race).
Holy cow! I'm so glad you finally reviewed this, Aptera deserves way more attention than it's getting. The engineering they are doing there, not to mention the right to repair philosophy, is just incredible considering today's EV world
@@Okurka. 1. Production tooling has been completed for the most expensive components. 2. There is a timeline on completion of a PI build. 3. Crowd funding effort was a massive success.
@@lsh3rd They have already gone under once and their current promised delivery date for the same 7000 pre-ordered vehicles is already 5 years late, Also its a near 20 year old car company that hasn't produced or sold a single car in that time
A friend of mine would benefit from this kind of vehicle. He drives a truck, where he commutes in and out of work every 5-6 days. When not working, his car would be sitting in a wide open lot under the sun in Georgia. He would effectively be able to run entirely on solar with his schedule and never have to charge conventionally (assuming they have more solar).
He could put some AGM batteries in the bed, cover the bed in solar cells, charge the batteries during the day, then wire his house to accept the solar generated electricity from the batteries in the evening. It almost sounds too easy....
@@deansmits006lol why not just put the panels on the house at that point? They’d be wasting money and energy lugging the batteries around in the truck.
It's really cool to see a company build a true ground-up EV rather than just taking an almost standard ICE car and putting an electric drive train in it.
This is one of the best presented videos on Aptera I’ve seen! Seeing this come from Robert, I IMMEDIATELY dropped what I was doing to watch and I was not disappointed.
They need to have a couple small jump seats for kids, even if they are mounted sideways. Please include 110-120v plug-in remote cabin preheating. So you don't waste a bunch of your battery just trying to defrost your windows.
Also keep in mind, Aptera was the company that names Tesla's charger NACS, because they realized it should be the standard and were the first ones on board. So basically they were the main push.
First perhaps, but the two "main" events most people will remember to make the avalanche happen were the NACS spec document from Tesla and the GM/Ford deal announcements. Aptera loudly shouted about the issue. Tesla laid the charges and GM blew it up (they are experienced with making things explode after all ).
Tesla opened the standard on November 11, 2022, renaming it NACS. Aptera released a statement on November 30, 2022 that they will be adopting that standard. Where do you get the idea that Aptera were the ones naming the NACS standard?
@@ccibinel Aptera installed the Tesla connector on their first prototype, started a petition to make it standard, and had permission from Tesla to use it 6 months before Ford. It would not have happened if not for Aptera's push.
I'm happy to see Aptera rise from the dead from the first attempt way back in the mists of time. The design is aero-intense but the styling works. Glad you had the chance to check it out.
I have been following Aptera for a long time and I absorb every bit of information I can. This is, without a doubt, the single best video I have seen about it. The amount, speed and accuracy of the information you share is outstanding. Thank you and keep up the great work!
There have always been buyers for straight forward efficient transport. VW beetle probably the most celebrated example. The problem ia finding a design you can profit from and deliver on customer experience. Apertera's are going to be awesome, i hope theyre profitable.
Man, I love your videos. The fact that you won't even add referrals for a product you seem to love speaks volumes about your integrity and desire to popularize really good tech. Also your editing is just hilarious, you're just a fantastic package all around 😀
Oh does it speak about his integrity? Everything he said in the video was completely parroted off of the aptera claims which are all completely false. All lies. This is a SCAM. They have one working prototype that can't even get out of the parking lot. They have ZERO working solar powered vehicles. They have supposedly working on this scam since 2006 and to date have produced ZERO vehicles. A thousand mile range my ass. This thing can't and will never be able to go more than around the block. Seems pretty odd that they have NO videos showing it driving for more than a few seconds at a time. Most of the shots are of it sitting parked. Everything they promise is always "coming soon". The only proof they have is CGI and drawings. Yeah right. "Coming soon" for the past 18 years.
I don't get why car companies are so obsessed with making cars shaped like cars. There's so much empty void space in modern cars, like 30% of the overall volume of a car is just unusable empty space.
@@rubiconnn Also the shapes of modern cars are highly inefficient aerodynamics wise. Like we have the technology to make really good, efficient cars, we just don't
In the summer of 1994, I was cruising US Route 54 in Missouri, as a college student. I found myself in a midst of a solar car race. There used to be a competition amongst colleges for this race. As I recall, General Motors had a solar car, that looked like a beetle (the actual animal, not a Volkswagen Type I) that they sponsored in this race for publicity. I saw a solar car from this competition on display at the LeMay car museum in Tacoma, Washington around 2020...
Don’t forget, while the cars were covered with solar panels, and much more thoroughly than this one, the teams also used much larger ground mounted solar arrays to charge a different battery while the car was driving during the day. After dark, gasoline rucks/vans brought the array and the ground based battery to the car and it was used to charge the car.
The solar car challenge still happens in the U.S., and the race across Australia also still happens regularly. Google can help you find those. They're fun to follow.
I've been following then since 2005 when they were originally using a small motorcycle engine and rear motorcycle type frame. At the time I think they were looking at around 150mpg. I think the EV idea wasn't an option back then, but now it's making this vehicle so much more appealing.
That's right. Then some equity schmucks got involved and tanked the company. Now the original founders are back and are a lot more careful with their partnerships.
I had pre-ordered with a deposit, the original one back in 2007. They refunded my deposit before closing the company - which I greatly appreciated. I don’t have one on pre-order yet for the EV, bc my vehicle needs for the upcoming 5 years is an unknown. (currently work from home, so only drive to the store now & then)
I've enjoyed your videos over the past couple years, which is about as long as I've had an Aptera reservation. You've done your research on this vehicle (like you do on every vehicle you review), and have presented the vehicle in such an accessible way. Thank you for presenting the Aptera so well.
@@crackedemerald4930 And while we're removing joy from the world in the pursuit of efficiency, we can make those houses 200 square feet -- enough for a bed and desk with common showers, bathrooms, and cafeterias for everyone to share!
Great to see Aptera getting some attention! Love their way of thinking and the car is in my eyes the best looking thing on wheel ever - I would have wanted one even if it had the same efficiency as my Renault Zoe. Been following their progress and ups and downs since 2008 and really hope this is it, this time - the world needs a car like this! ❤
They re not getting attention. There is not a single video out there that isn't made by someone affiliated to aptera. APtera is a complete scam. The people who make and post positive videos are compensated by aptera.
I don't even know what Aptera is and I'm already wrong about it. Damn, my bad. EDIT: I now know about the Aptera. You're right, I was wrong. It's pretty cool, but It definitely isn't an early 2000s one-hit wonder grunge band.
Those hub motors would make ev conversions on anything with a bolt in hub WAY simpler than building a motor and transmission assembly. I want two for my dodge neon.
Cody Loveland Racing was trying to add rear hub motors on their boosted V6 Civic time attack car known as "Beastie Hatch." It was a brilliant concept, but I haven't seen any updates since they took delivery of the motors something like 2 years ago.
@@Terran.Marine.2 It wouldn't be a hybrid. The rear suspension on a first gen dodge neon would have to be strengthened CONSIDERABLY to handle the torque of those motors. I'm not very familiar with the second gen, but I doubt it'd handle it either.
@@Terran.Marine.2 Given the 3 points plus strut setup for attachment of the rear suspension the first gen uses, at the very least, you'd have to make a sort of h-bar to replace the two thin tubes used for the lateral attachment. You'd also have to bulk up the forward anchor to allow for a much thicker brace strut just handle both the rotational stresses, as well as the push from the wheel trying to move forward in the wheel well. A tie bar between the two lateral braces to keep them from pulling apart/off the suspension mount brace under the spare tire well would also be a very good idea. Perhaps making it into some kind of wishbone shape to hold the top and bottom of the spindle at the same time would probably be best. It's possible to make the setup with a bit of thick wall tubing, some heim-joints, and a few threaded adjuster rods to dial in the alignment, but you'd still probably have to limit the controller so it doesn't try to give full power off the line, if ever.
I’ve been watching and waiting for a production Aptera for nearly 2 decades. If, IF… they can make a vehicle that actually preforms as advertised, Aptera will be the EV I’d buy. Oh, if you mentioned it, I missed it, but Aptera is also allowing for fix it yourself. They are one of the few companies that supports repair and maintenance, unlike the biggest EV makers, Aptera has a plan to put reader code stamps on all of their parts, this code when scanned with your phone or other device, will give you the part name, availability, cost, will even help you order the replacement part and show you or your mechanic how to remove the old part and install the new part. That in itself puts Aptera in a whole different class. Supposedly, last I heard anyway, they are saying production models should be rolling out in 2024. Well?.. we’re waiting.
Yeah this is my thing. Aptera reminds me a lot of achates power, an innovative diesel company You keep hearing about it and it sounds great and all, but it reminds me of tucker and how he got caught on selling stuff that wasn't ready. So we'll see how many of these companies actually produce something
This is the only channel that can get a huge combustion car guy like me to actually get excited for some evs the optera definitely seem like a promissing concept with great engineers behind it i really hope it makes to production
Disappointing that they haven't yet found the "inspired billionaire" that they need to get into production soon. I guess "venture capital" won't take risks on projects with huge potential social benefits.
@@robertkirchner7981 Unfortunately, those with big money usually also want operational control. The founders took that deal 15 years ago with Aptera 1.0, bad direction was given, then the company imploded. With this Aptera 2.0 that was re-founded in 2019, they are unwilling to make that same mistake.
@@robertkirchner7981They have. They have raised so much capital over the decade they've been trying to make this car, but the owner/ceo gambled away company money on crypto, and keeps making very questionable decisions based on whatever Tesla is doing at the moment. This guy thinks he's the next Elon, and it's scary. I've been following this since 2018 and had a reservation until last year when I cancelled it. I asked if they would offer a paid option for physical buttons and knobs for controls as well as a round steering wheel since touch exclusive controls are proven to be more dangerous since they require taking eyes off the road. They said no and blocked me from all of their socials.
@@robertkirchner7981 It's more they popped up at an unfortunate timing. They showed up just before covid shut everything down and the economic uncertainty of the world made investing in anything a dangerous move. We are finally moving on from the recession so it looks more likely that it will be getting funding in the near future. Also note that Aptera is very adamant on not selling off the company or giving too high of voting power to an investor right now. When they first tried to make a car back in 2009 doing this resulted in the company going bust as investors wanted to shift more towards normal cars which burned through all their funding. They don't want to give up the power they have, but that's what many major billionaires want to do. Either way they seem to be implying they at least have the funding to make the launch edition vehicles from their crowd funding. That or they're holding an investor behind them for now.
Wow this video was blowing up! You're getting subscribers from this one for sure. Two things: 1. This thing is weird and cool and I hope you do more stories on this thing as it gets closer to production. 2. That guy actually makes a really good sidekick for you. I hope he pops up again as well.
It is a scam. This company went bankrupt after losing 24 million in 2006 and they are at it again trying to scam more millions. NONE of what they claim is true. Their POS can't even drive out of the parking lot. Don't believe me? Look up the CBS interview where it couldn't even go up a hill.
Gains in "reliability" with weight "loss". Yeah, right. Tantamount to saying an increase in yellow with a reduction in milk. Nonsensical like the rest of your poorly thought and delivered comment@@leonmusk1040
That guy works for Aptera doing the 'digital marketing'. So he's kinda Chris Anthony's sidekick, I always imagine that he'll be the one left to face angry investors when everyone else has skipped town, I hope they go easy on the guy.
Hilarious. I hope there is justice served for all of those involved. Big class action suit coming down the line and the people involved in the "investment" scam will be named on it as well. This is a classic ponzi scheme. These cons have been at this for nearly twenty years. They take advantage of everyone's desire to be "green", flash a few cool looking CGI clips, tell people it is solar powered and then take their money. The solar power claim is the best lie. Anyone with a rudimentary knowledge of solar would see it is complete bullshit. They don't even have a single vehicle that can prove any of their claims, just one sad prototype that can't even get out of the parking lot without breaking.@@bluetoad2668
To be fair, if the motor is making noise that's a sign of inefficiency, and Aptera seem to be all about making this car as close to 100% efficient as they possibly can. So noisy motors? Yeah, they'd have to go.
@@DaWrecka i’m sure they could figure out a way to alert people a vehicle’s nearby without turning it into a gas guzzler. I don’t care for cars sneaking up on me, call me old-fashioned.
@ptonpc I haven't heard of that one yet, I'll have to check that out, though even if it does come out Canada doesn't have the French brands over here, not since the late 80's, so many good/quirky cars that we missed out on
My son converted an electric scooter powered by solar panel over the head, realized keeping the panel home to recharge the spare battery was more efficient not having to carry it with you and more fun to ride. With lightweight panel on a trike those concerns may change but one should do the math for how they drive and where the car is stored. If stored in a garage and short local drives, I think keep panels at home. If parked in the sun all day at work that may be another thing, especially if the added range will help you get home.
Yeah, that's the big difference. Can you get back to the stationary batteries or not? Also, on-board electronics are constantly eating power, even sitting still. Solar panels fight vampire drain.
@@CrissaKentavr another use I see for solar is using it to power AC to vent the car in summer\heat it up in winter. 700 watts of heating is enough to at least keep the car above freezing, and while definitely not enough to bring it down to comfortable temperatures in heat, at least it will make the temp bearable
@@TheWinjin There won't be anywhere near 700 W in winter. You won't see more than 30 W peak on most winter days where I live, because there won't be a clear blue sky in a month.
All good points. Thirty years ago, even had the small solar fans you could install above the window to vent the hottest air from solar heating your car to oven temps. We even car camp in a Prius V setup as an R.V. charging a small battery bank to run fans and charge electricity in primitive wildlife management areas.-@@CrissaKentavr
UPDATE: The in-wheel hub motors (7:20) won't be in the first release. The company making those motors (Elaphe) couldn't get them ready soon enough and, rather than delay production, Aptera decided to go with another company (Vitesco) and their EMR-3 on-board drive train for their lauch edition units. This means front-wheel drive only instead of all-wheel drive and perhaps slightly less efficiancy. It does seem like the right move though, as the EMR-3 is a proven motor that will work well.
i have been excited about these since they were announced. I have had a reservation since the first became available. I am glad you share my excitement!
I hope they sell it in Europe. I'd be worried how it would do in the US because everyone's going crazy for SUVs over there, but in Europe and maybe also Asia I could see this doing very well. I'm personally not looking to buy a car but if I did this would be what I would get!
The main problem is it's quite a wide car, designed for US roads. If they can somehow downsize it a bit that would be great but I expect to maintain stability they'd have to shrink it in all dimensions, which means basically a whole redesign.
@@Okurka.Edit: my bad. After a bit more reading as far as I can tell the Aptera would fall under the vehicle class L5e-A (tricycle) and those vehicles have a max width of 2m. -No, it isn't.- -The legal limit is 2.55m, the Aptera is 2.2m wide (which is still ridiculously wide)-
Great subminal messaging at the beginning... before you formally introduce the Aptera. Your enthusiasm matches mine, but your hands-on experience lends additional credibility. The flipping between the boxy Bolt (not to mention the pickup "bricks") and the sci-fi Aptera really emphasizes how revolutionary it is. Don't get me wrong -- we have a Chevy Bolt and love it, but I can't wait for the Aptera!
I drive a Chrysler Pacifica plug-in van to work for free every day, but only because it's less than a 30 mile round trip and I charge it (on solar no less) in the parking lot when I'm inside. The only time we ever put gas in that van is on the rare trip out of town. If Chrysler would just replace the gas tank and ICE with more batteries, that would give about 400 miles of range and we could go basically everywhere ever want to go on a road trip.
This is the most innovative approach to presenting Aptera that I have ever seen. Amazing intro about solar energy production and connecting it to the efficiency of the vehicle... Brilliant. Great video, as always! (Btw: it would be very interesting to make the comparison with the Twike - having in mind that it is much more expensive, and much less of a car)
To be fair, he did say he thought his video was a bit too glowing for it. It is an amazing vehicle, but he did seem a bit too caught up in the moment to judge it. Though to this day I haven't heard much bad about it beyond the fact those wheel pans tilt when turning and shift when hard accelerating.
@@Skylancer727 "Though to this day I haven't heard much bad about it" The tyres don't seem that wide by modern standards (albeit it's light). I wonder if it can generate the typical 1 lateral G that most modern sporty cars, can? [Obviously the tyres are however much wider than on an actual Solar Challenge car, so it will have more lateral grip than one of those which are not designed for cornering at all?]
The passenger in the other car next to you whipped out their camera to film the Aptera real quick! We're totally going to have to deal with Aptera paparazzi and answer a ton of questions when we get our Apteras! Apteri? Whatever. Ask away, I'm prepared! (Unless they ask what do you call multiple Apteras/Apteri). 😜
I want one of these. I have since I first heard of them a few years ago. I'm surprised they haven't actually started production yet, but that seems to be a funding issue and that they are actually fully working out every detail, which just makes me want one more.
Mass producing cars is hard. I'd be surprised if they can ramp up production without running out of capital first. Time will tell if their 2nd go makes it
It's not a car, it's a motorcycle and it's also a complete scam. They have never and will never produced a single vehicle that works or does even a fraction of what they claim it can do. Always "tomorrow" or next year with their bullshit promises. Scamming since 2006. Number of vehicles produced, ZERO.@@deansmits006
One thing not mentioned here, at the opposite of every single other EV manufacturer, Aptera will give you the Right to Repair, and even designed the car to be easily repairable via kits.
"will give you" is a bit of an optimistic way to put it. they have promised the moon, but they have yet to prove themselves able to give anything at all
I would hope so. All EV's in general really should be designed in a way to be servicable. Why not? They are by their very nature much simpler machines overall. Calling them souped up golf carts is reductive but still. Battery, Motor, controllers, etc... The fact that we haven't seen as many modular and DIY EV's out there yet (though I think they do exist) is kind of odd.
@@DrROBschiz EV development has not reached the bump of the S curve, every 2 years you see a significant amount of improvement in efficiency. Designing them for right to repair doesn't make sense because they most likely have changed platform, software and hardware countless times and providers by the time R2R become relevant. And only 2 manufacturers so far are making profits from their EVs, Tesla and BYD. The hard part of EV making is cutting weight. Wait until mid 2030s when battery density is around 400Wh/kg for affordable cars to see EV strategy branching out to R2R. Aptera hasn't delivered a single car yet, so we can't count on them.
… apparently you have never heard of Sonos motors in Germany… who have the technology to embed solar cells in body panels and who had working models of their car with a nominal 3kw array in the body. The recently succumbed to market forces and gave up the dream, now focusing on solar-assisted bus climate conditioning packages and large refer trailer units
The first version of the company launched in 2006, but after some loans didn't come through and some poor decisions were made, they went under around 2011. This version of the company was restarted in 2019 with the original founders
That's a nice and honest and also enthusiastic review of a very good car. Thank's for that. I don't understand the video's title though. What am I wrong about? Anyway. I drive a partly home-made solar "car" (you can see it on my channel) that's actually a bicycle due to legal contraints. It's also a bicycle concerning its weight. It has only one seat, admittedly, and it only goes 25 kph (because only then is it considered a bicycle here in EU). But I do get a range of about 50 miles on one kWh when I don't factor in the solar charge from my 420 Wp solar roof. March through October I can most often go 50 miles each day without ever having to plug it in. That is if the vehicle is parked under the open sky and not in a garage or some other shadow. Total range on my 2.8 kWh battery is about 130 miles. Using my 300 W plug-in charger I can charge at 14 mph. I do totally see the huge step in EV development that Aptera is about to make. But I also see how much room there is yet to go. Thanks again for the status update on the Aptera!
That knock-knock to open the door is the coolest thing. Definitely fits in with the coolness of the rest of the car. 😎 Now that we're used to ordinary cars being electric, we can actually get cars that look like they're from the future.
I hope that knock feature doesn’t make it to production. I hate Quirky gimmicky things that just exist only to be quirky and gimmicky. Give it some Toyota Land Cruiser opening latches and get this to market.
I do that with my Volt (using 12A mode), but I only have a 40 km round trip commute. Also have MHEV mode for the rare times (like two three times a year at most) I don't have enough battery to get around daily.
I've heard of the Aptera, and the main reason it is so efficient, beyond the aerodynamics, is the weight or lack there of. Most BEVs are really heavy because of the massive battery packs needed to get the range they have. This makes them really heavy and require more power to move them around. The Aptera, like a race car, is essentially cut down to the bare essentials to cut down on how much power is lost just getting it to move. This increases how far it can go with the same amount of charge as a much heavier BEV.
It can never sell as cheap as they promise. The hype about what is a modest amount of solar panels is going to be reality checked. I have been driving my Arcimoto for over 2 years now. It is streamlined enough. Designs should not be pushing ways to go long distances in personal vehicles, that's the wrong stuff.
@@georgesbv1 They will have a 3rd party fully crash test production ready units and publish the results. The computer models look very good. Highest roof crush strength of any passenger car tested. I'm not worried.
@@georgesbv1 2 seats only is a huge plus and a step in the right direction to reduce very wasteful American habits. One person should not drive a 4 seat car all the time.
This is what future vehicles should be like rather than cybertrucks. I don't live in the US and am not really able to drive daily, but I wish this could succeed and take over the trucks in the US market. It's a sublime attempt to help with the climate change.
I feel better and better every time I hear about this car. When it started up a long time ago I was optimistic but super nervous that this wouldn't come to market. I'm very excited!
It is a scam. How does that make you feel? All their claims are bullshit. They have been playing this scam since before 2005 before they went bankrupt the first time. Now they are counting on people like you to get sucked in to fund their scam now.
I absolutely share your enthusiasm for Aptera. It reminds me a lot of the Volkswagen XL1 in its concept. We definitely need more cars like this, but sadly I worry about their long-term success in a market with ever-balooning SUVs. I absolutely wish them success; evidently this focus on efficiency and aerodynamics would transition very smoothly to aviation, and I hope the company considers that as a future avenue. The car is already halfway to being an LSA already. For myself, as much as I like small cars, I still prefer cars to be more car-like. While this might be the only legitimate use of a three-wheel design, it approaches the point where I rather use a motorcycle with its traffic advantages (the reason I struggled to be swayed by Electromecchanica). I realise not everyone prefers to do the same, and I think this is a fantastic choice for apartment-dwellers who rarely have access to charging at home.
Honestly the middle of the US gas station anxiety driving my miata across it is why I want one. Sure it's only 30 miles in a full day of charge but there are solid 70 mile plus stretches with no gas station around. My miata had me sweating bullets and it's pretty damn fuel efficient knowing I forgot to fill up for awhile zoning out, I'd be walking 70 miles in a cellphone dead zone.
@rt_goblin_hours no but living where I'm used to a gas station on every street same as a bank, church and a Mexican restaurant. I tend to not have to worry about running on the last fumes of the tank and forget to preemptively get gas. It's been a few years since it was running but vaguely remember it been like 11.5 gallons or something.
AT LAST! The King of OddBall Cars has the BEST review this writer has seen. And he has seen them all. I am pleased beyound words that he has, at last, driven/seen the Aptera
I hope the side-impact-collision-incentivizing window surround gets designed out before production. (EDIT: Just watched to the end :-) ) Love the Lotus-esque "add lightness" ethos of this thing.
Yeah, my main concern is bumper compatibility. I can't imagine them changing that rear end at all, which means the Aptera might just get yeeted during every rear end collision
@@REALfreaky It's surprising how many modern vehicles get totaled for a rear end collision (or air bag deployment) these days. Labor costs for anything but superficial damage is just so high. With the carbon survival cell one serious wreck and the car will be totaled so it will be interesting to see how insurance companies will compensate.
This is the first electric car that actually looks intriguing. All the others seem to be garbage. This one? Efficient, aerodynamic, and most importantly, looks ridiculously unique and futuristic. I would so buy one if I had money! I truely hope they become popular.
The cross section of the wheel pods is quite slender. And the nose is that much smaller. The frontal area of an Aptera is about equal to a Tesla Model 3. You don't count the space between the wheel pods and the body. There's a little drag from the suspension but only a little. And it will be faired.
@@retiredbore378At typical city speeds, EVs are perfectly viable already. Range and potentially rising electricity prices are the biggest issue, and this car solves that beautifully.
It's crazy. I actually got to see the car prototype at the New York City Auto show back in 2019. It was pretty cool to see that the company is actually still around our shocked. They were in the proof of concept area of companies that were coming to market and we're really hoping to get investors or get public attention. I guess it worked😊
CF-SMC ("Forged Carbon Fiber") is the cheaper and mass production ready brother of the real carbon fiber (Also not as strong). The only mass production level consumers of this kind of technollogy are big supercar brands, so is not a surprise Aptera also uses them. More like the only option.
High efficiency non highway vehicles is what at least half of new electric cars should be. There are plenty of work vehicles that never need to leave an urban area and can be produced for basically half or less than the standard cost of an EV sedan. If we can reduce the cost of production through less battery capacity, safety standards designed for lower speed collisions and lighter components capable of less speed then we can meet the needs of millions of drivers, lower the burden on infrastructure and replace millions of ICE cars much faster.
This would make a killer commuter vehicle.
Id quite literally spend $0 on fuel costs just to get to work daily.
I think it will make a killer road trip vehicle for two people. Imagine putting in an honest 500 miles at highway speeds with a single charging stop.
@@lsh3rdnot just a single charging stop, but those stops will be so fast that you get enough charge in the time it take you to take a dump and grab some food/drinks
i was thinking the same thing, and the solar in the day would prob make up for the AC usage loss@@lsh3rd
@@TrevorWilliams215 correct. All you need to do is time the stop with lunch and there will be no time penalty.
Ehm, no. Notice how he pointed out solar panels are useless on a model 3? And how they are at best 2x more useful on the aptera? It was easy to miss because I guess you dont get invited if you press such matters too hard; but unless you take this thing grocery shopping once a week in california, youd better still find an outlet. But sure enough, your charging cost will be meaningfully lower due to its size and efficiency.
The fact that this costs less than a Twike is WILD.
I can't stop freaking laughing at that fact
The Twike is wildly overpriced. I don't understand how that thing sells. Their marketing must work on a specific group of people in a way that I don't understand.
Having said that, the Aptera has not sold any production vehicles yet. I can't think of any EV that sold for its "expected" price. We'll have to see.
they actually don't know what the price is nor will the guarantee the price on the website. considering the body panels are ten thousand dollars per the CEO when asked how much to replace them there is zero chance the prices on the website are meaningful
@@SolarWebsite from what I've seen Twike is hand built in single quantities and isn't really what one would call a production vehicle. It doesn't really have a marketing division and might be a semi hobby type of operation that just about pays for itself in that way. I live in their primary area right near the company and the only Twike I've ever seen is the one run by one of the guys who makes them. Government grants and such might be a contributing factor to small company's survival.
It’s not going to come anywhere close to its original target price. That was before they went with getting it built in Italy and shipped over to be finished.
To be profitable they are going to price themselves out of the market. If they came to market in 2021/22 they might have made it.
What a crazy concept of making a electric vehicle actually very efficient and light. Instead of 5 ton, rolling refrigerator with huge tires and all kinds of rolling resist.
Its easier to market towards people's feelings than logic.
Look at what people in the USA drive. Manufacturers need to appeal to that.
@@lawnmowerdude Let's not pretend like manufacturers aren't the ones _creating_ some of that appeal, though. It's hard to buy anything other than a massive truck when all that's available are massive trucks.
yeah I mean the fact that is that efficient goes to show how gas car makers are going out of their way to make super expensive cars plain and simple.
@@SaraMorgan-ym6ue government regulations also push them that way. they'd get penalized for making say, an S10-sized truck again for example.
36 years of World Solar Challenge races are starting to pay off...
well yeah .. but also car manufacturers simply never dare to go this far .. in production ..
Nope - Aptera is what they used to look like 36 years ago - look at the modern ones - NOT like Aptera at all
@@duncancairncross citroen ds 1964
@@duncancairncross Still a heck of a lot more like Aptera than any other car
@@-NGC-6302- they resemble solar cars as were historically built for engineering contests of efficiency and paper (publication) generating material. Just adapted to minimally meet some safety requirements if they are sold as street legal.
I think one of my favorite things about this car is that the CEO planned (atleast on the older prototypes) to make the car modular. With QR codes on specific parts of the vehicle that link you to a video on how to replace said part step by step. They want people to be able to self repair their car and I think thats amazing.
Still the plan as a R2R vehicle. Hell. If they decided to make it a kit car as well, I'd buy it and build it myself.
Man this car could literally not get more perfect, I so hope that they make it into production with all this.
I had concerns about this problem as well. Looks like this series of car would be interesting once my crv kicks the bucket
I'll be shocked if this gets past dealers or a year after launch. But impressed.
Right to repair is still the ethos of the company!
I love the genuine appreciation at end with the disclaimer of no sponsorship or advertisement. I'm excited to see the company succeed at this as well! All the best Aptera ❤
*Aptera
Rob rives the car as an absolute madman, has a banana smile, and giggles like a kid the entire time; Chris M. reaction: another normal day at the office…
@@thomasphillips885 Oops, thanks for the correction.
Unfortunately the channel is furthering an investment scam ... many of us early investors were promised our cars in 23 then they said end of 24. After that they launched another jump to the head of the line for 10k or more investment deal. Problem is they did this earlier with the paradigm model. They use channel to draw more people in to scam with false promises
ALL aptera reviews so far are product placements, sponsorship through access, which counts as product placement on youtube(and eu and usa)
Rob's assessment of the stability of this vehicle really speaks volumes, he knows a thing or two because he has seen a thing or two. Have you wrecked a twike?
Or a Robin!
The wide 2 wheels at the front instead of a single front wheel makes it much more stable. When you turn much of the rolling force is in the front, so having a single wheel in front makes it want to just keep rolling. Especially if you also hit the brakes which puts even more weight on the front. With the wider front from the 2 wheels it gives a far more stable platform.
@@NBSV1 I've got a buddy with a Can-Am whatever..
I think he's afraid of bikes.
Tried to scare me. Didn't work.
I've driven a few sidecar bikes.
They are a challenge out the gate if you're used to leaning into turns and counter steering.
@@NBSV1Morgan did that for a very long time.
@@jimurrata6785 LOL! Top Gear had to rig the Robin to make it turn over in their videos. Robin took Reliant to the #2 manufacturing position in the UK back in the day, with around 1/2 million examples produced. It was hardly a failure.
it's like the anti-Cybertruck
no no no no get back in there🤣🤣🤣
It really is
its a solartruck now
@@jensenthegreen6780 it's a rusty pile of recalled crap
@@strider_hiryu850 ok
So glad to see this company didn’t die out over its development of this car. I hope to drive one someday
What do you mean? Aptera is as old as Tesla, it went under, and same dude whose original idea it was, is now -again in charge. In its first go in 2008-2011 it had real funding, current iteration is crowdfunded... I think the 'hope' part is quite strong here.
I should point out that the current CEO was not at the helm when the company went under the first time. He left because he didn't like the direction they were heading and the way they were doing business
Yeah, I have been watching Aptera since the early 2010s… I guess we shall see if they can get that ship off the ground. I hope they do!
@@agingwheelsThanks for mentioning that. In another post I added that Aptera was out of business for 8 years before the original founders brought it back. So they had nothing to do with the earlier failure and in fact started over with a totally new version of their original design.
I will add that the 2011 version failed right after the new CEO abandoned the original design and tried to build a traditional four wheeled car. I'm not saying that's the reason it failed, it was probably a desperation move to attract a government grant. But it did not work.
@@HVM_fi yeah tech wasn't ready yet when they initially launched, now the batteries are so efficient and cheap thanks to Tesla pressure that it's feasible
In a world where SUVs are becoming the norm and the transition to EVs seem to be producing mostly large and heavy vehicles with terrible handling feel, it is nice to see that someone is trying to do something light, fast and nimble again. I want my EV to drive like a go-kart because go-karts are fun.
I love how you can measure wall power at 10 miles per hour now. That sounds so wrong. "My wall power goes 10 mph!" "What? Where is it going?!" It's like some reverse "is your fridge running" joke. It's so absurd and I love it.
"about that 1015 mph ticket in a school zone, officer, the fact i went westward technically makes it legal in reference to earth's core"@AboveAverageMan97
Like in the movie Jumanji when they keep talking about their phones and the guy from the '80s that got locked in there goes, does the phone mean something different in the future?
At the risk of being anal, just to be clear, when Bob says "plugging in gives you '10 mph' ", he of course, NOT talking about 10mph speed. He is saying that for every hour your Aptera is plugged into a 110-120 VAC standard North American wall socket, the amount of charge received by the Aptera will amount to approximately 10 more miles of driving. (E.g. an overnight 10 hour charge on a wall socket will net you approximately an extra 100 miles of driving the next morning).
we just did a test in Australia roughly 1000klm trip using 2 identical 7 series bmw's 1 electric and 1 petrol. the electric cost more for the tip and over 2 hours slower waiting for charging not to mention the charger is plugged into the power grid to charge its just an illusion. only good for short city runs so you can charge at home to make it cheap using a slow charger to keep the costs down aint physic's a bitch
wiki/Life-cycle_greenhouse_gas_emissions_of_energy_sources@@SteeleFalcon
it felt like an advertisement because Aptera is so damn interesting and exciting vehicle. I really hope that they will be successful.
why don't electric cars not have solar panels?
because it only is useful to a few people in very short range trips
Not so. With a very light, efficient vehicle in a sunny climate, the solar charging will be a game winner. The folks in Abu Dhabi are really interested in this car. Here in the Southwest US, most people will literally be able to run off the solar power that feeds the battery for their daily driving. Aptera does not have to be a car for everyone for the company to be successful. I am praying that they are successful. I want an Aptera!
@@WonderProfessor To pray is not "doing something". Praying is begging for someone else to do something, I don't pray. I act. I have 3 on order since 2019.
I love that this looks like it came straight from a 1990s concept showroom
Like the movie sleeper
Id have built them differently and id get rid of thw ugly wheel covers and then give it really wild suspension for offroading
@@TheAnnoyingBoss lol, you don't need any twist when there's only 3 wheels... it would look good with some big mud tires up front.
Yet its the only car made that actually looks like a 2024 car should
Straight out of an episode of "Beyond 2000"
I see another benefit to solar panels on top, which solves a big complaint anti-electric car people have. If you get stranded from electricity running out, you aren't entirely screwed. You could wait a few hours in the sun and be able to go a few more miles, or at least keep electricity inside running to help keep you cool or warm while you wait for help.
@user-iu4wh1zs6t Not sure why you're replying that on my comment. My comment was about the panels providing a way to not be completely stranded, which they would still do regardless of those things. Yes, it's not going to charge at night lmao, but it will charge some the next day, enough to get you out of wherever you are, is my point.
It would take a month to charge via solar, this vehicle is pointless and fugly
@@MrDmadness I take it you did not finish the video. It charges at a rate of 40 miles per day.
@@Yoshi-rq9xi i can do the math, literally certified to do so.. i call b.s.
Just remember to have some portable electronics for distraction (internet, gaming, e-book) and you're set.
If we start getting low drag car designs, I'm extremely here for it.
I wonder why the Tatra never caught on in the 1930's? Indeed, in the 1950's the US auto makers were still making some incredibly unaerodynamic shapes with poor drag coefficients instead of following the lead of Tatra.
@@TassieLorenzo Cost optimization. It make no sense cutting down on fuel consumption when the car become more expensive.
Its also worth saying that the economic life of a car in the early to mid 1900ed was actually shorter than today, and the driving distance even more so.
In 1930 there hardy existed any highways. But there is really just on highway you have large benefit of low drag.
For a car that may have driven 30k miles before they was scraped, this was just not economical.
In the 60s this number was up to about 50k miles. Its really only in the 90s and 00s that the number that a new car was expected to drive went over 100k miles.
This change the dynamics and suddenly making more fuel efficient cars was quite a bit more realistic.
@@TassieLorenzo It's simple there was a time where fuel was so cheap that if you could afford a car then you can easily afford the fuel. There just was no incentive to reduce consumption.
Damn it, I've been following the progress of Aptera for years. Love the car, but it felt like the pregnancy that will never come to term. Then here you come, gushing legitimate, tangible, praise, and I'm all fired up again.
still preggers..
Me too, years and years, what was it 15 years ago or more I think. Looks like it might show up, but still seems like vaporware. I wish it was a 3-seater.
i know you said that this isn't an ad, but holy crap, your enthusiasm combined with the way this car would match my needs, I'm genuinely considering getting one of these to replace my hybrid whenever they come out. This was a great way to show them off! Thank you for making me aware of them
It'll be a few years out yet. As of right now they're only expecting the early model production late this year if they're lucky so consumers buying now likely won't get one for 3-5 years depending on how investors take the brand.
Im hoping there in full production by the time my sentra starts shacking itself apart. Im wanting something like this (well, not just something, this is literally the electric car I want) to replace my gas cars when she is at the end of her life.
Lots of enthusiasm, but remember this is the same guy who owns a Twike. His perspective on the practicality of vehicles is perhaps not the same as your average person. It has only two seats, the trunk is long but very flat so fitting groceries in there might be a challenge, I wouldn't be surprised if the heater is a pair of hair drivers bolted underneath the dash, and so on. These cars have been in development for so long it's kind of a joke.
Personally, I'd love to buy one, especially if they by some miracle hit their price point and even more miraculously qualify for the Federal Tax Incentive. If those stars aligned you could walk out with them for probably $25,000 after taxes and whatnot. The problem then would be they would never be able to keep up with demand. It would be impossible to actually buy one because the line would be out the door, around the block, and next town over.
@@katmandomo they actually haven't been in development long. They only launched the brand in 2018. Tesla for example also took around the same amount of time to release the Roadster, and the Roadster reused an existing car's body. Plus Tesla got lucky with a random millionaire dumping all his money into a hostile takeover. Aptera hasn't been so lucky.
And there's no shot the Aptera will get the tax incentive. They almost got it with the last revision of the EV incentive program but you should expect the incentives to either start going down or going away in the near future. The topic of EV incentives has been getting for more political recently and with the high odds of a right wing president this year, I expect these policies to go away more quickly (let's be honest, it's looking increasingly less likely the current president will win again).
Again practicality is honestly decent. It's well known that the average car holds 1.5 people so the vast majority never haul a single person at all. I mean it says a lot with how many people buy cars when they say the back seats are either uncomfortable or unusable. Even in my family my mother has always had her own car for work and another for hauling the family. My dad used to also have a beater for work before he retired. If you already have a family car, there's nothing wrong with also having a commuter. Plus there are many younger or single people out there who basically never drive anyone.
As for the hatch being high and flat, well just look at all pickup trucks. Most pickups anymore have beds nearly chest high. Really not a convenient place to be lifting things to. At least in this case it's more a similar height to most cars at about waist height. You can see so Aging Wheels video. And that was an early model that had the lip before the rear. The production model has the hatch go all the way to the rear.
@@Skylancer727 if I can lay my mountain bike down in the rear im happy. Thats honestly my only concern with the rear. I dont mind putting the front wheel in the other seat, its kinda what i already do. I really should up and buy a bike rack.
I love cars that focus entirely on one goal, particularly efficiency. Which is why I love my first gen Insight so much, because it's focus was essentially purely to be efficient, which, I think, is why the Apterra gives me such similar vibes. It's just taking that goal for efficiency even further, without being limited to late-90s car technology
Huge fan of the first generation Honda insight. I would own one if I could find one for sale near me.
@garethbaus5471 yeah, there's not a whole lot of them out there. I'm definitely glad I was able to pick mine up when I did. Somehow, the other Insight in my city lives two streets away from me though 😅
@@negil My current car is also a rare hybrid variant and one of the first of its kind to be mass produced, but it isn't a 1st gen insight.
@BlueOvals24 It looks just as practical as an Insight to me. Both seat two people, have a similar hatch design (but the Apterra looks like it is a little deeper and likely has more storage space), and probably a similar maximum load capacity too (the Insight isn't supposed to take more than 365lbs including passengers). I've had mine for about 7 years, and it's never really been an inconvenience for me, but it’s far from a practical usable car for most people.
@@negil whenever they drive past you: "DID WE JUST BECOME BEST FRIENDS?!" haha
I want one based on looks alone. Coolest thing I've seen in years. I love the focus on efficiency too. That's the way forward. Colin Chapman: "Simplify, then add lightness". More true than ever before.
That's the biggest thing I am annoyed with about all thr electric cars. They are UGLY. This actually looks unique and futuristic. Not necessarily cool looking. But it's exactly what you would expect an electric car to look like.
I’m only 2 minutes in but this thing worries me safety wise, especially in a market of ever larger trucks and SUVs
@@JeronimoStilton14 If anything, this thing could potentially be safer than a Tesla in a crash, since the battery pack probably isn't a structural component, and thus won't bend and instantly enter explosive thermal runaway. If it is a structural component though, then its yet another EV less safe than a Pinto.
@@Avetho have there been any exploding teslas?
Nevermind I just went and looked, there sure are lol.
Also even if the battery isn’t a structural component, and even if it doesn’t have any catastrophic thermal runaway, there’s basically no room to crumple. I don’t care about the fire, I care about you surviving long enough for the fire to matter. In the video I believe it mentioned crash teating even though they don’t have to, and we shall have to see when it gets to that point how well these keep you safe. I’m frankly fairly onboard with this car.
@@JeronimoStilton14 Frankly, I'm rather on-board with this car too, since this is what EVs were supposed to be, they're pushed as energy efficient yet we get 5000 pound Teslas, giant Rivians and F150 Lightnings, leave cargo and passenger hauling to hybrids where the load makes the engine more efficient and give small city-going commuters efficient crash-tested and safe road-legal glorified waterproof e-bikes with road-going horsepower and AC. This car is basically just that, which is actually pretty awesome.
I'd feel better knowing which battery chemistry they're using, and a lot more comfortable if we find out they're not using Tesla's chosen battery chemistry, their NCA batteries are the most volatile of all Li-ion out there for the lofty goal of the maximum energy density.
The big issue with runaway in batteries is that Li-ion batteries like NCA and LiPO end up igniting if ever exposed to oxygen, and then they start burning their electrolyte which sets the lithium on fire and burns more electrolyte in a real jet of plasma from a puncture hole, a discharged battery pack probably has a similar energy density to an equally heavy full gas tank, in both cases if you burn it you get loads of thermal energy, just once. The tank can be refilled, the battery however just becomes a heavy lump of cooling slag.
I've seen EVs go up in flames before, you've got maybe at most 5 to 10 seconds from seeing thick white smoke to run at least a dozen feet away from a Tesla before the fire bursts out and envelops the car and everything inside it. Those E-buses too are scary, one smokes for like 5 seconds and whoom its all on fire, then like 10 seconds later the bus beside it smokes and boom fire and it repeats down the line until all the buses are ablaze, its why one of the most scary man-made places to me right now is that Chinese EV graveyard, so many cars with batteries that could short out and go into runaway if they have any power left at all, and if a storm happens and something falls over, that whole area is going to burn for days and release putrid toxic smoke everywhere. It burns hot enough that it melts the body panels and glass in still air, that never happens in ICEs unless there's a decent wind flaring it up.
Overall, I trust Aptera to make it right and make it safe, not sensational. If it had to be Li-ion, I'd make it LiFePO4, those batteries can be impaled at full charge and won't do more than a candle flame after the debris is removed.
"Less range in the winter!"
Joke's on you, I own a jacket.
My dad is always cold in general and has Renaud's disease, which makes his hands extremely cold. He got a Chevy Bolt and I thought he would be using the heated steering wheel all the time. He set the car for no HVAC on start and he never uses the heat, but he always feels warm in the car. We're in Vermont, so we do get serious weather. I'm rarely cold, but I do use the heat in my car and I also felt fine riding in his Bolt. Dad's best guess is the heat from battery conditioning bleeds through into the cabin. Thats probably going to be true in the Aptera too.
@@patrickcorcoran4828 They are likely going to have a heated steering wheel available
It fogs up too much without heating.
And let's not forget how happy the steering yoke looks
*stupid
As a student captain of a high school solar car team, I want to
A) thank your various EV related videos. The lawn mower battery conversion legitimately helped with us setting up our own BMS.
B) state how shockingly similar the Aptera's layout and design is to the higher-end student competition cars. Three wheel designs are goated because of their lack of a differential and tapering profile.
Those competition tricycles also have narrow tires.
cause they are not made for use on an open road
@@cybertonto72 it doesn't mean it cannot or shouldn't be, we should be striving for more efficiency, not bigger and heavier cars.
7:13 - for cars made in the past 30 years, this dude has easily the most interesting fleet on the platform.
You really can pick em' man.
9:01 totally accelerated past the guy trying to take a picture of it! Awesome!
🤣🤣🤣 that guy got a good picture of an empty spot of road.
That guys is part of the crew, who do you think did the recording at 2:22?
@@Lucas-vd2gx Point is, is that it was spontaneous. they just left it in due to the comic effect. still makes it brilliant.
This thing looks like the ultimate commuter car. Excited to see how production comes along
Wider than a Hummer H1?
This is better at long range, too. You can just buy a 1,000 mile version.
@@vic321344 that doesn't stop you commuting, though does it.
@@FinnishArmy Commuter, long rage? Seems like two seperate things.
@@vic321344 Many of us have both applications in mind.
I was crazy into the original Aptera designs back in 2008. When the company went under during the recession, I was pretty bummed. Seeing them come back like this has been very exciting, and I hope they get to full production.
Ha, when people compared Aptera to the Roadster in Tesla forums at the same time frame, I find that silly. Now with another go with the f*ing crowdfunding it's near insanity, it's your money, so do you like, but I give it as fat chance as NFTs...
@@HVM_fi To be fair, Tesla only survived because a multi-millionaire threw nearly all his money into a hostile takeover of the brand. Elon isn't wrong when he says the brand wouldn't exist without him, even after he took over they still barely made ends meet.
Plus there's no risk in spending your money on Aptera, any reservation you make is refundable and they did refund everyone back in 2008. We have full reason to trust they'd do it again if they have to. And the crowd funding is literal investing. It's just closed stock exchange rather than being open to the entire market. They're not big enough to go public nor do they want investors changing the plans for their initial model.
And NFTs were a literal scam. NFTs had about the same value to people as the art industry; basically things have value because I say so. Considering how little impact the art industry has on consumers with most not even going to free art museums, why would anyone have viewed NFTs any higher? I think it says a lot when the only people praising NFTs were the millionaires who are interested in the art industry.
They’ve ‘come back’ several times in the past 14 years. It’s a fraud
@@brittburton3264 no they didn't. They only came back once. I think you might be confusing the fact that in the liquidation they made following their bankruptcy they sold the brand to a firm in China. It wasn't till 2019 they bought the brand back. There wasn't even any time for it to launch "multiple times" as they only liquidated in 2011 and came back in 2019.
Plus the co-founders both have started other completely legitimate businesses. Chris Anthony founded Flux Power who are still a major battery supplier for electric forklifts and airport equipment. Steve Fambro has also worked in a vertical farming company called Famgro LLC and worked as the COO at the Ag Tech Group for Ocean Holding. I'd say the only iffy thing about anyone's history is Fambro who also worked at Unicoin a crypto currency brand.
@@brittburton3264 They have not. They went bankrupt in 2011 and came back in 2019. This is the result of the 2019 company until now.
Was that not one, but TWO ElectraMeccanica Solos? I cant wait for the video!!!
I was wondering if I was the only one who got excited when I saw them!
I saw that, too! Talk about a cool microwave.
Me also. Wish I could get 1....
I had the opportunity to test drive one of them and sorry to say it but the solos are cr@p.
I really love the look of the ElectraMeccanica 356 replica.
Given that the average commute in my area is about 25 miles, this car could *almost* be driven daily entirely on solar power.
This has to be the coolest most practical electric car I've ever seen. Most people may never have to even plug it in. There is a farmer that lives across the road from us who has an electric mini truck with a solar panel canopy. In 3 years he has never plugged it into an outlet and it's always ready when he is ready to go.
I'm guessing you dont live in cold climate then. On winter best part of the combustion engine is the extra thermal energy that can be pushed to cabin. In EV all that energy comes from battery and vehicles generally are not well insulated that might not be enough both range and heating capacity. Also if you get stuck on the side of the road for what ever reason ICE will keep you warm long as engine is running and if you have webasto you can keep car turned off and just use that to stay warm, while battery on EV runs dry rather fast. Also our roads would be horrid with this thing. Ice tends to form grooves on the road but this thing has its rear wheel smack on the middle. One corner and slight breaking probably drop rear into one of those gooves and getting out of that might become really god damn interesting. Yeah cant say i'm that optimistic about this thing.
Given how much of the US lives in hot climates, this car could still excel in that market. It's worth noting that given how efficient the car is, it's possible that it could use its power to heat the battery if they release an all season version. Also be realistic, how much of the ICE car owners actually owns a webasto or something similar? 5% 10%? I think your comments are being super unreasonable. I think the people behind this project are well aware all the problems it would face in the winter @@Hellsong89
And heating is the least efficient thing you can do with electrons
@@Hellsong89
@@Hellsong89 oh the other hand, it has never snowed in my city and it's always sunny. the clime control is still an issue, but on the opposite direction (for cooling), but the rest are non-factors.
I'd be very surprised if the solar panels on this car are as effective as they claim.
holy hell this looks awesome. was expecting to be snapped back to reality with a price tag of $80k and up. incredible that it's actually affordable
Actually, they sadly had to push the price up a lot recently. Couple years ago they aimed at ca $25k entry price.
But that has been consistent through the entire EV industry, cost getting a bit away from the start ups, unfortunately.
@@RoonMian You may be comparing their $25K base-model price (2WD, 250 mile range, limited solar) to their launch-model price (3WD, 400 mile range, full solar). After their first 2000 launch-models are delivered, they will start delivering their other configurations.
It will be impressive if they make it at all, making a new car is incredibly hard.
well it makes me wonder how effective solar panels would be as a range extender for that car.🤔
It looks like shit though?
Even though theyre removing the motor wine, chris stated that theyre gonna add personalized motor sounds, i want the jetsons sound effect bad
I think the Flintstones mobile would be a great sound.
I want the original sound. It's just like how Tube trains sounded when I was a kid.
was gonna go tie fighter
I want one. I even showed it to my wife and she exclaimed, "Buy it!"
Lucky!
Have her eyes checked asap
sorry you can't
Did you tell her to get in line! There’s a whole bunch of people way ahead of you! Even if they decide to produce it, you’ve got a long wait buddy.
@@bill4482 I can wait. I'm sure after a few years there will be used ones available anyway.
The fact that aging wheels really wants one does, in fact, make ME really want one. 😊
I’m starting to really want 1 as well!
@AboveAverageMan97 as with many things, “wanting” and “getting” are entirely different. Sometimes even when you eventually GET it, it makes you wish you’d never even heard of it!! 😊
car is only a car.. 🤣
@AboveAverageMan97my guy, they start shipping out aptera's next year
@AboveAverageMan97then the company got killed, then it got resurrected and they got the capital to get to this point and beyond
I put a reservation in for mine a few months ago. At the current projected rate of production (10k per year) it's going to be nearly 4 years before I can get mine. I really hope they ramp up production!
That's if production starts at the end of the year.
I'd be surprised if you ever get one tbh.
this entire company screams investment fraud.
Actually the projected rate at full production capacity will be about 29K per year. I don't know how long it will take them to ramp up to that, but they are very insistent that they will be producing 40 cars per shift with 2 shifts per day soon after starting production. We won't know for sure until they're producing them but you'll probably get yours in closer to 2 years than 4 years
Lol, I will check back in 4 years if I remember. I will predict ahead of time, you will never get it.
I have a brother who reserved one like a couple of years ago. Honestly I would have a reservation if I could afford a new car.
This is a truly amazing electric car. crazy-looking, quite inexpensive yet also very efficient, and also surprisingly practical.
And since 2005 still not available.
mad respect for your last discussion about motivations/lack of sponsorship/etc. that kind of transparency is super important (and I share your enthusiasm).
Back in the early 2000s, our Electric Auto Association chapter invited a guest speaker who competed in the Australian solar car race. These cars were completely solar powered, very flat and light. Their entire top half was hinged and opened so it could tilt up and face the sun at sunrise and sunset, thereby getting every single available photon! Very cool stuff. (And no, our speaker guest didn't win the race).
Check out the "Light Year 1". Its another super efficient solar production car that came from those Australian races.
Holy cow! I'm so glad you finally reviewed this, Aptera deserves way more attention than it's getting.
The engineering they are doing there, not to mention the right to repair philosophy, is just incredible considering today's EV world
I have been a reservation holder for years now, I share both the enthusiasm and the skepticism.
There are plenty of reasons to be optimistic!
@@lsh3rd Name 3.
@@Okurka. 1. Production tooling has been completed for the most expensive components. 2. There is a timeline on completion of a PI build. 3. Crowd funding effort was a massive success.
@@lsh3rd They have already gone under once and their current promised delivery date for the same 7000 pre-ordered vehicles is already 5 years late, Also its a near 20 year old car company that hasn't produced or sold a single car in that time
@@shaynegadsden so much of what you said here is completely wrong.
My favorite part of the video is the lady pulling up beside you to take a pic just as you punch the accelerator and leave her in the dust :)
A friend of mine would benefit from this kind of vehicle. He drives a truck, where he commutes in and out of work every 5-6 days. When not working, his car would be sitting in a wide open lot under the sun in Georgia. He would effectively be able to run entirely on solar with his schedule and never have to charge conventionally (assuming they have more solar).
He could put some AGM batteries in the bed, cover the bed in solar cells, charge the batteries during the day, then wire his house to accept the solar generated electricity from the batteries in the evening. It almost sounds too easy....
@@deansmits006lol why not just put the panels on the house at that point? They’d be wasting money and energy lugging the batteries around in the truck.
The car is so light it will be stolen in 6 days. It weighs less than a motorcycle.
@@Ask-a-Rocket-Scientist some people work in gated lots, I know I do
It's really cool to see a company build a true ground-up EV rather than just taking an almost standard ICE car and putting an electric drive train in it.
aptera started as an ICE vehicle
This is one of the best presented videos on Aptera I’ve seen! Seeing this come from Robert, I IMMEDIATELY dropped what I was doing to watch and I was not disappointed.
They need to have a couple small jump seats for kids, even if they are mounted sideways. Please include 110-120v plug-in remote cabin preheating. So you don't waste a bunch of your battery just trying to defrost your windows.
Plug-in preheating is likely. Added seats in back is not going to happen in this model.
Also keep in mind, Aptera was the company that names Tesla's charger NACS, because they realized it should be the standard and were the first ones on board. So basically they were the main push.
If true, that's awesome. And yeah, figures they'd know what's best
First perhaps, but the two "main" events most people will remember to make the avalanche happen were the NACS spec document from Tesla and the GM/Ford deal announcements. Aptera loudly shouted about the issue. Tesla laid the charges and GM blew it up (they are experienced with making things explode after all ).
@@ccibinel This is true, but that kinda stinks that Aptera made the standard push, even calling it NACS, and yet they'll get zero credit.
Tesla opened the standard on November 11, 2022, renaming it NACS.
Aptera released a statement on November 30, 2022 that they will be adopting that standard.
Where do you get the idea that Aptera were the ones naming the NACS standard?
@@ccibinel Aptera installed the Tesla connector on their first prototype, started a petition to make it standard, and had permission from Tesla to use it 6 months before Ford. It would not have happened if not for Aptera's push.
I'm happy to see Aptera rise from the dead from the first attempt way back in the mists of time. The design is aero-intense but the styling works. Glad you had the chance to check it out.
I have been following Aptera for a long time and I absorb every bit of information I can. This is, without a doubt, the single best video I have seen about it. The amount, speed and accuracy of the information you share is outstanding. Thank you and keep up the great work!
There have always been buyers for straight forward efficient transport. VW beetle probably the most celebrated example. The problem ia finding a design you can profit from and deliver on customer experience. Apertera's are going to be awesome, i hope theyre profitable.
Man, I love your videos. The fact that you won't even add referrals for a product you seem to love speaks volumes about your integrity and desire to popularize really good tech.
Also your editing is just hilarious, you're just a fantastic package all around 😀
Oh does it speak about his integrity? Everything he said in the video was completely parroted off of the aptera claims which are all completely false. All lies. This is a SCAM. They have one working prototype that can't even get out of the parking lot. They have ZERO working solar powered vehicles. They have supposedly working on this scam since 2006 and to date have produced ZERO vehicles. A thousand mile range my ass. This thing can't and will never be able to go more than around the block. Seems pretty odd that they have NO videos showing it driving for more than a few seconds at a time. Most of the shots are of it sitting parked. Everything they promise is always "coming soon". The only proof they have is CGI and drawings. Yeah right. "Coming soon" for the past 18 years.
This is litterally my dream car, and the type of car I've been talking about for years.
I don't get why car companies are so obsessed with making cars shaped like cars. There's so much empty void space in modern cars, like 30% of the overall volume of a car is just unusable empty space.
@@rubiconnn
Also the shapes of modern cars are highly inefficient aerodynamics wise. Like we have the technology to make really good, efficient cars, we just don't
Your dream car is a tricycle that's wider and longer than a car yet seats only two?
@@Okurka. Yes, it absolutely is my dream car :3
In the summer of 1994, I was cruising US Route 54 in Missouri, as a college student. I found myself in a midst of a solar car race. There used to be a competition amongst colleges for this race. As I recall, General Motors had a solar car, that looked like a beetle (the actual animal, not a Volkswagen Type I) that they sponsored in this race for publicity. I saw a solar car from this competition on display at the LeMay car museum in Tacoma, Washington around 2020...
Don’t forget, while the cars were covered with solar panels, and much more thoroughly than this one, the teams also used much larger ground mounted solar arrays to charge a different battery while the car was driving during the day. After dark, gasoline rucks/vans brought the array and the ground based battery to the car and it was used to charge the car.
Car at Lemay is one of the Viking cars from Western Washington University.
Watch the movie "Race the Sun" with Halle Berry and Jim Belushi 🙂.
The solar car challenge still happens in the U.S., and the race across Australia also still happens regularly. Google can help you find those. They're fun to follow.
I've been following then since 2005 when they were originally using a small motorcycle engine and rear motorcycle type frame. At the time I think they were looking at around 150mpg. I think the EV idea wasn't an option back then, but now it's making this vehicle so much more appealing.
That's right. Then some equity schmucks got involved and tanked the company. Now the original founders are back and are a lot more careful with their partnerships.
I had pre-ordered with a deposit, the original one back in 2007. They refunded my deposit before closing the company - which I greatly appreciated. I don’t have one on pre-order yet for the EV, bc my vehicle needs for the upcoming 5 years is an unknown. (currently work from home, so only drive to the store now & then)
I've enjoyed your videos over the past couple years, which is about as long as I've had an Aptera reservation.
You've done your research on this vehicle (like you do on every vehicle you review), and have presented the vehicle in such an accessible way.
Thank you for presenting the Aptera so well.
Considering how much cars just sit in parking lots, having the thing covered in panels is still a better idea than it not being covered in solar.
Or you could cover buildings with solar panels and connect them to the power grid. I know, shocking idea.
@@jankoodziej877or do both
@@jankoodziej877Or even cover car parks with solar panels, with the added bonus you don't come back to a blazing hot car!
Or even, remove car parks and use their useless space for housing!
@@crackedemerald4930 And while we're removing joy from the world in the pursuit of efficiency, we can make those houses 200 square feet -- enough for a bed and desk with common showers, bathrooms, and cafeterias for everyone to share!
Great to see Aptera getting some attention! Love their way of thinking and the car is in my eyes the best looking thing on wheel ever - I would have wanted one even if it had the same efficiency as my Renault Zoe. Been following their progress and ups and downs since 2008 and really hope this is it, this time - the world needs a car like this! ❤
They re not getting attention. There is not a single video out there that isn't made by someone affiliated to aptera. APtera is a complete scam. The people who make and post positive videos are compensated by aptera.
This car is an arrow through the air full economy, coolest car ever
I don't even know what Aptera is and I'm already wrong about it. Damn, my bad.
EDIT: I now know about the Aptera. You're right, I was wrong. It's pretty cool, but It definitely isn't an early 2000s one-hit wonder grunge band.
This felt like an ad until the last minute. Thank you for the clarity!
Those hub motors would make ev conversions on anything with a bolt in hub WAY simpler than building a motor and transmission assembly. I want two for my dodge neon.
AWD hybrid Neon, coming up. No batteries required.😊
Cody Loveland Racing was trying to add rear hub motors on their boosted V6 Civic time attack car known as "Beastie Hatch." It was a brilliant concept, but I haven't seen any updates since they took delivery of the motors something like 2 years ago.
@@Terran.Marine.2 It wouldn't be a hybrid. The rear suspension on a first gen dodge neon would have to be strengthened CONSIDERABLY to handle the torque of those motors. I'm not very familiar with the second gen, but I doubt it'd handle it either.
I suppose so with 1,000 ish foot pounds of torque. Plus the added weight. Might be quite a few iterations before it works properly.
@@Terran.Marine.2 Given the 3 points plus strut setup for attachment of the rear suspension the first gen uses, at the very least, you'd have to make a sort of h-bar to replace the two thin tubes used for the lateral attachment. You'd also have to bulk up the forward anchor to allow for a much thicker brace strut just handle both the rotational stresses, as well as the push from the wheel trying to move forward in the wheel well.
A tie bar between the two lateral braces to keep them from pulling apart/off the suspension mount brace under the spare tire well would also be a very good idea. Perhaps making it into some kind of wishbone shape to hold the top and bottom of the spindle at the same time would probably be best.
It's possible to make the setup with a bit of thick wall tubing, some heim-joints, and a few threaded adjuster rods to dial in the alignment, but you'd still probably have to limit the controller so it doesn't try to give full power off the line, if ever.
I’ve been watching and waiting for a production Aptera for nearly 2 decades. If, IF… they can make a vehicle that actually preforms as advertised, Aptera will be the EV I’d buy. Oh, if you mentioned it, I missed it, but Aptera is also allowing for fix it yourself. They are one of the few companies that supports repair and maintenance, unlike the biggest EV makers, Aptera has a plan to put reader code stamps on all of their parts, this code when scanned with your phone or other device, will give you the part name, availability, cost, will even help you order the replacement part and show you or your mechanic how to remove the old part and install the new part. That in itself puts Aptera in a whole different class. Supposedly, last I heard anyway, they are saying production models should be rolling out in 2024. Well?.. we’re waiting.
Yeah this is my thing. Aptera reminds me a lot of achates power, an innovative diesel company
You keep hearing about it and it sounds great and all, but it reminds me of tucker and how he got caught on selling stuff that wasn't ready.
So we'll see how many of these companies actually produce something
This is the only channel that can get a huge combustion car guy like me to actually get excited for some evs the optera definitely seem like a promissing concept with great engineers behind it i really hope it makes to production
Awesome that there are people working on weird stuff 😄
Disappointing that they haven't yet found the "inspired billionaire" that they need to get into production soon. I guess "venture capital" won't take risks on projects with huge potential social benefits.
That's what your momma said.
@@robertkirchner7981 Unfortunately, those with big money usually also want operational control. The founders took that deal 15 years ago with Aptera 1.0, bad direction was given, then the company imploded. With this Aptera 2.0 that was re-founded in 2019, they are unwilling to make that same mistake.
@@robertkirchner7981They have. They have raised so much capital over the decade they've been trying to make this car, but the owner/ceo gambled away company money on crypto, and keeps making very questionable decisions based on whatever Tesla is doing at the moment. This guy thinks he's the next Elon, and it's scary. I've been following this since 2018 and had a reservation until last year when I cancelled it. I asked if they would offer a paid option for physical buttons and knobs for controls as well as a round steering wheel since touch exclusive controls are proven to be more dangerous since they require taking eyes off the road. They said no and blocked me from all of their socials.
@@robertkirchner7981 It's more they popped up at an unfortunate timing. They showed up just before covid shut everything down and the economic uncertainty of the world made investing in anything a dangerous move. We are finally moving on from the recession so it looks more likely that it will be getting funding in the near future.
Also note that Aptera is very adamant on not selling off the company or giving too high of voting power to an investor right now. When they first tried to make a car back in 2009 doing this resulted in the company going bust as investors wanted to shift more towards normal cars which burned through all their funding. They don't want to give up the power they have, but that's what many major billionaires want to do.
Either way they seem to be implying they at least have the funding to make the launch edition vehicles from their crowd funding. That or they're holding an investor behind them for now.
Wow this video was blowing up! You're getting subscribers from this one for sure. Two things:
1. This thing is weird and cool and I hope you do more stories on this thing as it gets closer to production.
2. That guy actually makes a really good sidekick for you. I hope he pops up again as well.
It is a scam. This company went bankrupt after losing 24 million in 2006 and they are at it again trying to scam more millions. NONE of what they claim is true. Their POS can't even drive out of the parking lot. Don't believe me? Look up the CBS interview where it couldn't even go up a hill.
the best thing about it is the weight reduction ideology Toyota did a case study revealing huge gains in reliability with weight loss
Gains in "reliability" with weight "loss". Yeah, right. Tantamount to saying an increase in yellow with a reduction in milk. Nonsensical like the rest of your poorly thought and delivered comment@@leonmusk1040
That guy works for Aptera doing the 'digital marketing'. So he's kinda Chris Anthony's sidekick, I always imagine that he'll be the one left to face angry investors when everyone else has skipped town, I hope they go easy on the guy.
Hilarious. I hope there is justice served for all of those involved. Big class action suit coming down the line and the people involved in the "investment" scam will be named on it as well. This is a classic ponzi scheme. These cons have been at this for nearly twenty years. They take advantage of everyone's desire to be "green", flash a few cool looking CGI clips, tell people it is solar powered and then take their money. The solar power claim is the best lie. Anyone with a rudimentary knowledge of solar would see it is complete bullshit. They don't even have a single vehicle that can prove any of their claims, just one sad prototype that can't even get out of the parking lot without breaking.@@bluetoad2668
Great Job! My 3rd time viewing. One of the best on Aptera (and there have been plenty thus far)! Deserves much more views!
For a while I followed Elio hoping they would do something, but this looks even better.
Aptera should keep the noise of the electric motor.
To be fair, if the motor is making noise that's a sign of inefficiency, and Aptera seem to be all about making this car as close to 100% efficient as they possibly can. So noisy motors? Yeah, they'd have to go.
@@DaWrecka i’m sure they could figure out a way to alert people a vehicle’s nearby without turning it into a gas guzzler.
I don’t care for cars sneaking up on me, call me old-fashioned.
@@geneticepistomology Well yeah, I imagine some speakers would be more energy-efficient than a noisy motor.
This is one of the few cars, let alone EVs that I'm genuinely excited about. I love the video and the car!
I liked the idea of the Citroen Oli. I have no idea if it will ever enter production or be cheap enough for ordinary people to buy though
@ptonpc I haven't heard of that one yet, I'll have to check that out, though even if it does come out Canada doesn't have the French brands over here, not since the late 80's, so many good/quirky cars that we missed out on
It's not a car.
My son converted an electric scooter powered by solar panel over the head, realized keeping the panel home to recharge the spare battery was more efficient not having to carry it with you and more fun to ride. With lightweight panel on a trike those concerns may change but one should do the math for how they drive and where the car is stored. If stored in a garage and short local drives, I think keep panels at home. If parked in the sun all day at work that may be another thing, especially if the added range will help you get home.
Yeah, that's the big difference. Can you get back to the stationary batteries or not?
Also, on-board electronics are constantly eating power, even sitting still. Solar panels fight vampire drain.
@@CrissaKentavr another use I see for solar is using it to power AC to vent the car in summer\heat it up in winter. 700 watts of heating is enough to at least keep the car above freezing, and while definitely not enough to bring it down to comfortable temperatures in heat, at least it will make the temp bearable
@@TheWinjin There won't be anywhere near 700 W in winter. You won't see more than 30 W peak on most winter days where I live, because there won't be a clear blue sky in a month.
All good points. Thirty years ago, even had the small solar fans you could install above the window to vent the hottest air from solar heating your car to oven temps. We even car camp in a Prius V setup as an R.V. charging a small battery bank to run fans and charge electricity in primitive wildlife management areas.-@@CrissaKentavr
UPDATE: The in-wheel hub motors (7:20) won't be in the first release. The company making those motors (Elaphe) couldn't get them ready soon enough and, rather than delay production, Aptera decided to go with another company (Vitesco) and their EMR-3 on-board drive train for their lauch edition units. This means front-wheel drive only instead of all-wheel drive and perhaps slightly less efficiancy. It does seem like the right move though, as the EMR-3 is a proven motor that will work well.
i have been excited about these since they were announced. I have had a reservation since the first became available. I am glad you share my excitement!
I hope they sell it in Europe. I'd be worried how it would do in the US because everyone's going crazy for SUVs over there, but in Europe and maybe also Asia I could see this doing very well. I'm personally not looking to buy a car but if I did this would be what I would get!
It's 22.5 cm too wide to be road legal in Europe.
The main problem is it's quite a wide car, designed for US roads. If they can somehow downsize it a bit that would be great but I expect to maintain stability they'd have to shrink it in all dimensions, which means basically a whole redesign.
Unfortunately Europe is also going SUV crazy. Fortunately our SUVs are still quite a bit smaller than the monsters in the US.
Imagine how it will perform on a windy day, Leathal!
@@Okurka.Edit: my bad. After a bit more reading as far as I can tell the Aptera would fall under the vehicle class L5e-A (tricycle) and those vehicles have a max width of 2m.
-No, it isn't.-
-The legal limit is 2.55m, the Aptera is 2.2m wide (which is still ridiculously wide)-
Great subminal messaging at the beginning... before you formally introduce the Aptera. Your enthusiasm matches mine, but your hands-on experience lends additional credibility. The flipping between the boxy Bolt (not to mention the pickup "bricks") and the sci-fi Aptera really emphasizes how revolutionary it is. Don't get me wrong -- we have a Chevy Bolt and love it, but I can't wait for the Aptera!
Its unfathomable to me to be able to drive to work for practically free and let it charge in the parking lot while im inside. Such a cool product
I drive a Chrysler Pacifica plug-in van to work for free every day, but only because it's less than a 30 mile round trip and I charge it (on solar no less) in the parking lot when I'm inside.
The only time we ever put gas in that van is on the rare trip out of town. If Chrysler would just replace the gas tank and ICE with more batteries, that would give about 400 miles of range and we could go basically everywhere ever want to go on a road trip.
It is a joy watching you having so much fun.
Every time Robert calls that gallon jug a one liter bottle I want to cry.
Even worse the solar panel is holding at the start of the vid will produce ZERO Wh because the wrong side is facing the sun. . . . .
He forgot his props.
@@bobroberts2371 I wouldn't want it producing power with those leads dangling like that. A few volts up the trouser leg would make you jump.
@@lordbungle6235 You wouldn't feel anything from that 12 volt panel.
From the start, he explained it.
This is the most innovative approach to presenting Aptera that I have ever seen. Amazing intro about solar energy production and connecting it to the efficiency of the vehicle... Brilliant. Great video, as always! (Btw: it would be very interesting to make the comparison with the Twike - having in mind that it is much more expensive, and much less of a car)
To be fair, he did say he thought his video was a bit too glowing for it. It is an amazing vehicle, but he did seem a bit too caught up in the moment to judge it. Though to this day I haven't heard much bad about it beyond the fact those wheel pans tilt when turning and shift when hard accelerating.
@@Skylancer727 "Though to this day I haven't heard much bad about it" The tyres don't seem that wide by modern standards (albeit it's light). I wonder if it can generate the typical 1 lateral G that most modern sporty cars, can? [Obviously the tyres are however much wider than on an actual Solar Challenge car, so it will have more lateral grip than one of those which are not designed for cornering at all?]
The passenger in the other car next to you whipped out their camera to film the Aptera real quick! We're totally going to have to deal with Aptera paparazzi and answer a ton of questions when we get our Apteras! Apteri? Whatever. Ask away, I'm prepared! (Unless they ask what do you call multiple Apteras/Apteri). 😜
I want one of these. I have since I first heard of them a few years ago. I'm surprised they haven't actually started production yet, but that seems to be a funding issue and that they are actually fully working out every detail, which just makes me want one more.
It is a scam. They have been running this scam since before 2005. Bankrupt in 2006 after making 24 million disappear and at it again now.
Mass producing cars is hard. I'd be surprised if they can ramp up production without running out of capital first. Time will tell if their 2nd go makes it
It's not a car, it's a motorcycle and it's also a complete scam. They have never and will never produced a single vehicle that works or does even a fraction of what they claim it can do. Always "tomorrow" or next year with their bullshit promises. Scamming since 2006. Number of vehicles produced, ZERO.@@deansmits006
@@deansmits006elon said the absolute most difficult part of making cars was was the manufacturing.
One thing not mentioned here, at the opposite of every single other EV manufacturer, Aptera will give you the Right to Repair, and even designed the car to be easily repairable via kits.
"will give you" is a bit of an optimistic way to put it. they have promised the moon, but they have yet to prove themselves able to give anything at all
I would hope so. All EV's in general really should be designed in a way to be servicable. Why not? They are by their very nature much simpler machines overall. Calling them souped up golf carts is reductive but still. Battery, Motor, controllers, etc... The fact that we haven't seen as many modular and DIY EV's out there yet (though I think they do exist) is kind of odd.
@@DrROBschiz EV development has not reached the bump of the S curve, every 2 years you see a significant amount of improvement in efficiency. Designing them for right to repair doesn't make sense because they most likely have changed platform, software and hardware countless times and providers by the time R2R become relevant. And only 2 manufacturers so far are making profits from their EVs, Tesla and BYD.
The hard part of EV making is cutting weight. Wait until mid 2030s when battery density is around 400Wh/kg for affordable cars to see EV strategy branching out to R2R.
Aptera hasn't delivered a single car yet, so we can't count on them.
I remember after Highschool I wanted one of these so bad! Glad I got to see in detail.
… apparently you have never heard of Sonos motors in Germany… who have the technology to embed solar cells in body panels and who had working models of their car with a nominal 3kw array in the body. The recently succumbed to market forces and gave up the dream, now focusing on solar-assisted bus climate conditioning packages and large refer trailer units
Been following aptera for about 6 months, glad to finally see some drive and personal opinion videos.
I want one so bad!
I have been jonesing for one of these beauties for nigh on two decades, now. Absolutely salivating for one.
If only they would actually come out...
Wasn't Aptera a thing like 10 years ago? I'll be very glad to see these actually make production!
The first version of the company launched in 2006, but after some loans didn't come through and some poor decisions were made, they went under around 2011. This version of the company was restarted in 2019 with the original founders
That's a nice and honest and also enthusiastic review of a very good car. Thank's for that. I don't understand the video's title though. What am I wrong about? Anyway. I drive a partly home-made solar "car" (you can see it on my channel) that's actually a bicycle due to legal contraints. It's also a bicycle concerning its weight. It has only one seat, admittedly, and it only goes 25 kph (because only then is it considered a bicycle here in EU). But I do get a range of about 50 miles on one kWh when I don't factor in the solar charge from my 420 Wp solar roof. March through October I can most often go 50 miles each day without ever having to plug it in. That is if the vehicle is parked under the open sky and not in a garage or some other shadow. Total range on my 2.8 kWh battery is about 130 miles. Using my 300 W plug-in charger I can charge at 14 mph. I do totally see the huge step in EV development that Aptera is about to make. But I also see how much room there is yet to go. Thanks again for the status update on the Aptera!
That knock-knock to open the door is the coolest thing. Definitely fits in with the coolness of the rest of the car. 😎
Now that we're used to ordinary cars being electric, we can actually get cars that look like they're from the future.
until there is an emergency
I do hope that is optional.
I hope that knock feature doesn’t make it to production. I hate Quirky gimmicky things that just exist only to be quirky and gimmicky. Give it some Toyota Land Cruiser opening latches and get this to market.
@@kens8903 its optimization, door handles arent very aerodynamic and its more efficient to remove them.
If think that's cool, I've got questions about what you think is dorky.
I could plug this thing in to a 120v outlet and easily have it fully charged for my commute.
same, 8hr of charging on 120v is able to get over 100mi of range. which is absolutely nuts.
I do that with my Volt (using 12A mode), but I only have a 40 km round trip commute. Also have MHEV mode for the rare times (like two three times a year at most) I don't have enough battery to get around daily.
I've heard of the Aptera, and the main reason it is so efficient, beyond the aerodynamics, is the weight or lack there of. Most BEVs are really heavy because of the massive battery packs needed to get the range they have. This makes them really heavy and require more power to move them around. The Aptera, like a race car, is essentially cut down to the bare essentials to cut down on how much power is lost just getting it to move. This increases how far it can go with the same amount of charge as a much heavier BEV.
It can never sell as cheap as they promise. The hype about what is a modest amount of solar panels is going to be reality checked.
I have been driving my Arcimoto for over 2 years now. It is streamlined enough. Designs should not be pushing ways to go long distances in personal vehicles, that's the wrong stuff.
likely fewer safety than a regular car. And only 2 seats.
@@georgesbv1 They will have a 3rd party fully crash test production ready units and publish the results. The computer models look very good. Highest roof crush strength of any passenger car tested. I'm not worried.
@@georgesbv1 2 seats only is a huge plus and a step in the right direction to reduce very wasteful American habits. One person should not drive a 4 seat car all the time.
@@popeyegordon so all families need 6 cars now. 3-4 for commuting, another for road trips and a truck for DYI.
This is what future vehicles should be like rather than cybertrucks.
I don't live in the US and am not really able to drive daily, but I wish this could succeed and take over the trucks in the US market. It's a sublime attempt to help with the climate change.
6:20 that made me sad. R.I.P. ElectraMeccanica :(
They went bust? That's a shame, I really liked those things
@@torresalex Turns out, really not liking the building cars part
about being a car company isn't something you can fix by outsourcing.
I feel better and better every time I hear about this car. When it started up a long time ago I was optimistic but super nervous that this wouldn't come to market. I'm very excited!
It is a scam. How does that make you feel? All their claims are bullshit. They have been playing this scam since before 2005 before they went bankrupt the first time. Now they are counting on people like you to get sucked in to fund their scam now.
@@VideoViewer33512 company also collapsed for a long period of time and only somewhat recently restarted development.
@@VideoViewer33512 founded, went under, then came back in the last 5 years or so
I absolutely share your enthusiasm for Aptera. It reminds me a lot of the Volkswagen XL1 in its concept. We definitely need more cars like this, but sadly I worry about their long-term success in a market with ever-balooning SUVs.
I absolutely wish them success; evidently this focus on efficiency and aerodynamics would transition very smoothly to aviation, and I hope the company considers that as a future avenue. The car is already halfway to being an LSA already.
For myself, as much as I like small cars, I still prefer cars to be more car-like. While this might be the only legitimate use of a three-wheel design, it approaches the point where I rather use a motorcycle with its traffic advantages (the reason I struggled to be swayed by Electromecchanica). I realise not everyone prefers to do the same, and I think this is a fantastic choice for apartment-dwellers who rarely have access to charging at home.
Agreed
Don’t want it to be silent
Alpha sounds so good
Honestly the middle of the US gas station anxiety driving my miata across it is why I want one. Sure it's only 30 miles in a full day of charge but there are solid 70 mile plus stretches with no gas station around.
My miata had me sweating bullets and it's pretty damn fuel efficient knowing I forgot to fill up for awhile zoning out, I'd be walking 70 miles in a cellphone dead zone.
Is it that small of a tank?
@rt_goblin_hours no but living where I'm used to a gas station on every street same as a bank, church and a Mexican restaurant. I tend to not have to worry about running on the last fumes of the tank and forget to preemptively get gas. It's been a few years since it was running but vaguely remember it been like 11.5 gallons or something.
AT LAST! The King of OddBall Cars has the BEST review this writer has seen. And he has seen them all. I am pleased beyound words that he has, at last, driven/seen the Aptera
I hope the side-impact-collision-incentivizing window surround gets designed out before production. (EDIT: Just watched to the end :-) )
Love the Lotus-esque "add lightness" ethos of this thing.
"Love the Lotus-esque "add lightness" ethos of this thing."
Seriously. It's the most Lotus-like car since the original 7.
Yeah, my main concern is bumper compatibility. I can't imagine them changing that rear end at all, which means the Aptera might just get yeeted during every rear end collision
@@REALfreaky It's surprising how many modern vehicles get totaled for a rear end collision (or air bag deployment) these days. Labor costs for anything but superficial damage is just so high. With the carbon survival cell one serious wreck and the car will be totaled so it will be interesting to see how insurance companies will compensate.
This is the first electric car that actually looks intriguing. All the others seem to be garbage. This one? Efficient, aerodynamic, and most importantly, looks ridiculously unique and futuristic. I would so buy one if I had money! I truely hope they become popular.
A drag coefficient of 0.13? Holy shit.
The video of an Aptera in the Pininfarina Wind Tunnel would prove you wrong.
The cross section of the wheel pods is quite slender. And the nose is that much smaller. The frontal area of an Aptera is about equal to a Tesla Model 3.
You don't count the space between the wheel pods and the body. There's a little drag from the suspension but only a little. And it will be faired.
@@Okurka. Aptera performed correlation testing at the Pininfarina Wind Tunnel, which validated its computational fluid dynamics (CFD)
@@retiredbore378At typical city speeds, EVs are perfectly viable already. Range and potentially rising electricity prices are the biggest issue, and this car solves that beautifully.
@@Okurka.Cope and seeth
It's crazy. I actually got to see the car prototype at the New York City Auto show back in 2019. It was pretty cool to see that the company is actually still around our shocked. They were in the proof of concept area of companies that were coming to market and we're really hoping to get investors or get public attention. I guess it worked😊
Another cool fact is the carbon fiber body molds are being pressed and built by the same supplier (CPC) in Italy that does Ferraris and Lamborghini’s.
But they will build cars that cost only 25k , yeah right
Marelli is an Italian Supercar supplier. They also supply items for a Fiat 500.
CF-SMC ("Forged Carbon Fiber") is the cheaper and mass production ready brother of the real carbon fiber (Also not as strong). The only mass production level consumers of this kind of technollogy are big supercar brands, so is not a surprise Aptera also uses them. More like the only option.
@@framegrace1 - What big Supercar brands? What components do they use made out of forged CF?
High efficiency non highway vehicles is what at least half of new electric cars should be. There are plenty of work vehicles that never need to leave an urban area and can be produced for basically half or less than the standard cost of an EV sedan. If we can reduce the cost of production through less battery capacity, safety standards designed for lower speed collisions and lighter components capable of less speed then we can meet the needs of millions of drivers, lower the burden on infrastructure and replace millions of ICE cars much faster.