The width of the car is big. I would like for the body of the car to have slight curves that give space for the wheels to turn (not holes but more like dimples) that may take away a little bit of the aerodynamics but help the wheels be closer into the body and have the wheels be safer. I would leave it to the engineers to identify if is is very stable still, but should be still more stable than the average sedan. I would like for the wheels to not be with a full cover that may get scratched easily for those of us needing to park it on the street. I know the material is dent resistant or dent proof but would like to know if it can handle scratches well or not.
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I live in the UK and have driven all over Europe and much of the USA. I am sure the width of the Aptera would be fine on main roads and even country lanes but parking and low speed manoeuvring would not be possible in many places.
I have an idea, let’s call it IN-UP mode lifting the front axle UP and bringing the fronts wheels IN. I estimate that the Aptera lower front wishbones are 30 inches long. If an automated preload was applied to the front suspension, raising the lower wishbones to an angle of 35 degrees, the front track would be reduced to 78 inches. At a 78” width, UK multi-storey car parks, garage access and side street parking would all be possible.
The Aptera would obviously have to be rolling in order to raise/lower the front suspension and reduce the front track. A simple control would need to be available to the driver. Even this could be automated based upon sensors, vehicle location and speed. Stability would be obviously be impaired so a maximum IN-UP speed would likely be applied, hopefully 30 mph but even 5mph would work.
Residential areas are increasingly adopting 7 foot width restrictions to prevent commercial vehicle access. IN-UP mode would make the Aptera a real people’s car.
I have no problem leaving my F150 or Leopard2 tank with 146 inch in the city center. At an Aptera in a public parking lot, I would keep an eye out all night.
The most popular truck Ford F150 is 80 inches wide without mirrors.
Guess it still does drive-thru at McD and parks at Lowes, Homedepot and Wallmart 😊
Or you have to change to a Model 2 (link).
You will get that already in 2022, your Aptera probably in 2025, if the production numbers are not tripled.
Aptera Motors has a short video, Aptera Vehicle Dimensions, that states that the Aptera is " . . . just the right size . . .". I wonder if the qualifier "for now and for many people" should be added. If good, solid-state batteries come along that offer the same or more storage in a smaller space and better photovoltaic cells come along that can produce more energy per square foot; I think I would prefer an Aptera that had a thinner center body so that overall the Aptera was 80" or less in width, but the distance from the main body to the wheels was the same to preserve efficiency. I just like a smaller vehicle better. My 2018 Model 3 is a little larger than I like. My smaller Prius Prime (about 2" shorter, 2" thinner and a smaller turning radius) was easier to drive. But it was not all electric.
When my Model 3 becomes worn-out and obsolete, or I am super inspired by something new; I hope the something new will be an Aptera that offers all that the present Aptera offers but in a thinner package. Of course, the present Aptera is quite awe-inspiring.
I would consider a single aisle version to lower the drag and front area even more and reduce cost of materials - fewer doors, less area, etc. Could reduce weight slightly too. So, squeeze even more miles out of it or get a slightly smaller battery and reduce cost even further.
Did the original Aptera Typ-1 (Aptera 2 Series) have a center console? In this video, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y8qK1vMN_9I (The Truth about Aptera), It looks like the Typ-1 did not have a center console. See 2:40, 3:17, and 4:54.
2 wheels front, 1 wheel back, 2 side by side seat vehicles
Aptera 88 inches wide
Polaris Slingshot 77.6 inches wide 1,743 pounds top speed 130 mph
Vanderhall Carmel GTS 68.9" 1,505 pounds top speed 140 mph
Sandy Monro said during one of his many interviews that this strategy of lengthening the outside shock during turns will be used in the production model Aptera.
That is a great idea and can be used along with other ideas.
Just making the wheel fairings on left and right quickly and easily removable for narrow towns etc where the current wheel width is excessive in small villages, then put them back on for long journeys where the aerodynamics matter more. This is a really big issue to tackle as in my location the roads are very narrow and sides would definitely take chunks out of the outside of those wheel covers
Leaning is quite easy. A simple controller with pendulum sensor to adjust air shocks on the suspension. As the vehicle corners, the sensor applies more pressure to one air shock and less to the other.
The distance between the inside of the wheel covers and the main body is there to keep the wind resistance low. If they're too close you get turbulent flow of air in that space and increase drag. I believe the CEOs said this in the Sandy Munro interview.
The Aptera is 15" wider than a Tesla Model 3. That' a lot. I see lots of parking spaces where parking it would be a problem. The seats in the Aptera are closer to the doors than to each other. I suggest getting rid of the center console between the seats and putting the seats just as close to each other as they are to the doors. Do whatever is possible to lessen the width of the center body of the Aptera and thus lessen the width of the entire vehicle while keeping the same distance of the wheels from the body to maintain efficient air flow. This would also increase range.
Leaning the wheels can reduce both the unspring and total weight by using lighter motorcycle wheels. Since the wheels will no longer experience as much side pressure, they do not need as much structure. Even spoked wheels could be used. The width has nothing to do with leaning except for the sensation experienced by the passenger. The same sensation occurs in a normal car when you traverse a section of banked curved freeway. Feels pretty normal. Leaning the wheels and body are a natural result of my unique axle assembly design, which I will share with the team as soon as the virus sequester ends.
Leaning the Aptera is not feasible; it is too wide. Leaning the wheels is a lot of effort, and wouldn't really help.
The purpose of leaning is that it moves the center of gravity toward the center of the corner, decreasing the chance of a roll-over. Motor cycle riders and skateboarders experience this all the time. If a 4 wheeler is desired, I can make still make it lean.
It sounds like a great idea until you turn the Aptera too fast and roll it down a ditch. If we went with the Leaning Proposal, we should just make Aptera a four wheeler instead of a three wheel adding to the rolling resistance of driving. It kind of defeats the purpose of Aptera being one of the most energy efficient vehicles around.
That's an even bigger ask. With the side-by-side seating, the body could not really lean, and it would actually have to raise up to even do it; which would defeat the purpose.
See my Leaning Body proposal. If the body leans, the front axle can be significantly shortened.
That is a huge change, and I think they have already optimized the design. It has three wheels, so the two front wheels need to be a certain distance apart (track width). And aerodynamically, if the wheels are outboard, then they need an adequate space, to minimize the interaction of the separate "bodies".