I first mentioned the Aptera last year, when it was being test driven. This car’s eye-catching design isn’t just for show — it’s designed to be a very, very efficient vehicle. Just check out the video below you’ll see what I’m talking about:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VUhPaxvhJCI[/youtube]
Much like a jet, the shape of the Aptera is designed to be highly aerodynamic.
According to the designers, the drag coefficient of his two-seater Typ-1e is a mere 0.15, about the same as the sideview mirror on a conventional car. Compare that to 0.26 for the Toyota Prius or more than 0.40 for today’s SUVs.
Recently, it was driven through New York, and past people crammed outside the Hearst Tower as the Aptera Typ-1e electric vehicle pulled up to accept its Breakthrough Award from Popular Mechanics.
The Aptera is currently in production, and it’s expected to cost around $30,000. The all-electric version of the Aptera has a range of 120 miles per charge. It’s scheduled to be available this year. A 300 MPG hybrid version will follow in 2009. The company is accepting reservations now.
The car is also said to be very safe, see the safety FAQ here.
Link: Aptera
Via: Popular Mechanics
wow these cars are incredible! Thanks for sharing this !
Nice looking ..What a beautiful car, perfect engineering, detail-oriented. i thing its very good .. but this is very expensive..
I’m all about the Aptera myself, though I’m waiting for the Hybrid in 2010.
Other than it being one of the most eye-catching cars on the road (or rather will be) its efficientcy of movement and true positive environmental impact (unlike other hybrids) make it a most appealing car.
Ron, I heard it was really roomy inside!
I don’t think this suits fat people. 🙂
B-e-a-utiful design…. very cute…… When is this available in US market………
It’s classified as a motorcycle so it gets motorcycle plates — much tinier than full size plates. I believe the rear end is designed to accomodate a motorcycle plate.
Beautiful vehicle. One problem: US still requires rear license plates. I’d hate to see its cd tripled by some flapping piece of tin hanging from the rear.
Its not for everyone! Drivers pick any of several dozen models now and some can’t afford a new car! Some of us can’t afford not to, but everyone is different. I drove 400 miles round trip to one of my properties Saturday. There was 2 of us in the car, a Mercury Sable Station Wagon, it got 28 mpg and used 15-16 gallons on fuel, costing us $50. plus dollars just in gas! The Aptera would have been about $5.00 In business that $45. and 10 expenditures like it in a week, is enough to make payments on another rental property.
It takes money to make money and to me the Aptera is seen as a business investment, but if you don’t drive much and are happy with the cost of fuel, then don’t consider this.
Plane Nuts
Buy a Hummer, but Aptera is for those of us who commute 3,000 or more miles per month.
I have kids! 15, 18 & 20, two still at home! My Ford Ranger has custom seat belts in the rear, a pain to put the seats in, but doable. My Geo will hold 4, 5 in a pinch! Have two cars? One for those 10% or less family outings and an Aptera if you are a commuter for 80-90% of your driving.
very cool. thanks for sharing this sweet post!
Okay – so it looks real cool, but where do I put my three teenage children?
Nice car. Hopefully it will be a success and more All-Electric cars follow after it.
If you could drive it to Canada, the round trip might cost you about $27.00 Wow! That would help our economy if folks were travelling more and spending money here, instead of giving it to Arab OPEC countries!
looks like a very well made and exeptionally well designed vehicle. i want one of these. i wonder if i can drive it in canada?
So cool I plunked down my $500. 100% refundable deposit should I change my mind! I drove 5300 miles last month, so the Aptera is a pratical choice for me. I have a Ford Ranger pickup and a 3 cylinder Geo, I don’t drive the Geo for its good looks! I see the Aptera as a economic advantage working in property management, not simply a good looking toy.
One way to look at this, is $500. in interest might be 2% or $10. GOING GREEN, changing the way Detroit builds cars and reducing our dependency on foreign oil are all impacted by such a small investment. Who knows, you might even follow through to owning one?
What legacy will we leave our children? Hummers and gas guzzling SUV’s, dependentcy on foreign fuels, a huge foreign debt? The Aptera will be made in America and the monies I save will be spent locally, its a win, win, synerio!
Hello,
The Typ-1e has a range of 120 miles not a mileage of 120MPG. You can not simply equate batteries=1 gallon.
To get a better estimate of the mileage one can do the same calculations as Tesla does in their website.
In the Aptera case it does 120 miles with 10kWh batteries and does 120 miles, so that is around 52Wh/Km, which is more than twice as efficient as the Tesla Roadster, and if you look to the Tesla page, that means that it is 4 times more efficient than a Prius.
BTW, I love this blog.
Not exactly 120 MPG. Don’t confuse miles per gallon on an internal combustion engine with range on an electric vehicle. The Aptera has an all electric range of 120 miles. It doesn’t get any miles per gallon because it doesn’t use liquid fuel. If, for instance, you has solar panels on your roof and charged your Aptera from the energy created by the panels you would have zero energy inputs from fossil fuels.
What a beautiful car, perfect engineering, detail-oriented. I hope it really is as inexpensive as $30k.
Pretty Cool. Even though it looks like a Fish I once saw while scuba diving of the coast of Mexico. Still, for $30k, I can see “myself” arriving at the Casino Royal, and while stepping out saying; “My name is Bond. James Bond!”