Old duffer that I am, I grew up during the golden age of the British sports car (mid-50s to about 1980) exemplified not by Aston-Martins and Jaguar XKEs but by the Triumph TR series and the British Motor Company’s MGB and MGBGT. The Triumphs and MGs were designed for fun and for accessibility to the common man – or woman, although neither company would have said so because … well … it was the 60s. They were inexpensive – the MGB sold for $2,500 when introduced in 1962 ($7,100 in 2021 dollars) – low-slung, RWD two-seaters with floor-mounted – unusual in the 50s – manual transmissions and peppy-at-lower-than-highway-speeds little engines that made them especially fun to drive on winding country roads.
The MG Cyberster concept car is a beautiful and exciting-looking machine that I would love to drive and that will, I am sure, be a joy to those with deep enough pockets to buy one, but journalists and company promotional messages casting it as “a return to MG’s sports car heritage” have seriously misunderstood that heritage.
One of the reasons I am so excited about the Aptera Paradigm is that it stirs in me the same passion for driving that the TR7 and MGB did decades ago because it fully evokes – sans manual transmission – the spirit of those wonderful automobiles for the 21st Century.
My comparison above was for 95% of the time for 95% of drivers (that is to say, home charging).
Personally I pay zero, since there are at least 20 free chargers that I know of which are right on my normal 17-mile route.
The most expensive public charger I've seen actually costs $1/hour LESS to charge at than to just PARK in that lot without charging, so you could say the effective net cost to charge is NEGATIVE $1/hr, but not counting that: Total out-of-pocket cost is equivalent to a 33.3mpg car at that county's current gas cost. That is, a car that's not parked in that lot!
However, nearly all the non-free chargers around here require 50 to 100mpg to match the cost, & of course that doesn't include the savings on oil, filters, smog checks, brakes, etc.
@my_discord_number_is_0328 Aptera's lubrication cost will be zero, & brake maintenance cost will be nearly zero. Someone on another forum claimed I was wrong for saying they'll last forever. Then someone else did the math & figured they'd last a few hundred thousand miles, by which time I'll be dead, so for me the cost really is zero.
Energy is DEFINITELY cheaper than gas prices: Last time I checked, the average BEV was cheaper even in the state with the most expensive electricity, compared to the average ICE in the state with the cheapest gas. Aptera is another 60% cheaper than those BEVs.
@Kerbe #12705 The electric power steering feel SHOULD be adjustable. On eGolf & Fiat 500e it is not, unfortunately.
@my_discord_number_is_0328 Weight distribution is also pretty even front-to-back, at 70% front weight bias as Aptera's goal, according to line 99 of Aptera's FAQ Spreadsheet. That puts 35% on each front wheel & 30% on the rear. They will be able to tweak that if needed, just with battery placement, at least with the sub-1000-mile range models. The latter likely have to go in the only place they'll fit.
Judging by the recent drag-strip moose test vid, it might currently have a bit of oversteer (rear tire slides), which does provide more aggressive yaw axis rotation, but they're adding a sway bar which will reduce that unless they also move the battery aft.
If they make it understeer like most modern cars do for the safety of the average un-skilled driver, you can tweak it back with stickier front tires &/or reducing the swaybar's effect: I'd NEVER suggest this for ANY other car, but since Aptera obviously works fine without it, you might even be able to just remove it! Saves weight, smoother ride, & regains oversteer.
how is the weight distribution font rear? its probably pretty even left and right... and can there be option to have more agressive yaw axis rotation when steering? i read somewhere aptera is all wheel steering, so it it doesnt need to rotate much which is somewhat better for aredynamics, but option to switch steering behavior would be attractive to people choosing between aptera and a miata or something up to around 50k USD, because more dramatic perceived movement is desired from sports cars.
apteras lower brake and tire costs due to light weight and energy being probably cheaper than gas prices and lower lubricant costs(costs include inconvenience in terms of time, of having to replace parts and refill lubricant), plus optional cabin quietness and optional less dramatic steering of the all wheel steering, plus the fact that many are ok with speaker sounds instead of natural engine gearbox sound(especially with high representation speaker environment that somone said would be in aptera because somone at aptera is a audiophile), plus unquie appeance, all makes aptera arguably better than other 2 seaters.
suspension with easily adjustable stiffness and travel and hieght(off roading included) , changeable brake pedal input vs output sensitivity, are a big deal because they give option to experience different types of car in 1 car and options are nice in general (ex. less pedal sensitivity is desired on road so driver doesn't have to be careful to not burn rubber accidently pushing pedal too much, but such is desired by some people who wants more sports car. maybe steering wheel sensitivity can be adjusted too if its steer by wire, ideally the adjustments can be done inside cabin, so driver can adjust things by whim ex. someone wants to try a preset of adjustments at a more sport friendly part of road when it comes, or whatever driver is in mood for ex. if driver likes softer ride but wants a more interactive ride to make driving less boring b/c he is tired thus easily distracted from being aware on the road, but maybe he gets a coffe and wants to set things up back to softness. Ariel atom 4 has something like this
adjustment device can be mechanical instead of electrical with knob and linkages.
for max experienced g forces in quick acceleration, there can be software launch control, if tires can handle it, and i bet lot of people(the type of people who buy 2 seater cars) will buy sticker tires for aptera, plus it makes teh marketing difference when car has the quicker acceleration number.
theres also readiness for camber adjustment
I think it is clear that the Aptera will be the best sports car anywhere near its price range for years to come. And it will be made in America by skilled American workers.
So funny about the Lucas Electronics, because we all wrestled with them so many times. I think maybe Detroit has miniturized some classic Lucas components.😉
All humor aside, I think modern electronics are automotive miracles. I'm definitely ready for this 21st Century two-seater, and modern electronics will be part of the magic!
Plus with an Aptera, I doubt it will have Lucas electronics. Why do the British drink warm beer? Lucas refrigerators.
I think the Aptera shares more ancestor DNA with Saab 96's than with MG's, given the emphasis on aircraft engineering and aerodynamics. I was pleased to here their main engineer refer to Saab in that way.
Go Frank! I feel much the same about the Aptera, with the added excitement of fulfilling the dream of driving around on sunlight. Another parallel is the right-to-repair philosophy, which really speaks to serious sports car fans.
Isn't the Nobe closer to what you're looking for?
My 2nd car was a 1973 MGBGT. It was slow, but a lot of fun and made me learn how to maintain/fix cars as British cars weren't reliable back in the day.
BTW. With inflation $2500 in 62 is more like $22K today.
Hi, Randy. I am #20872. We should get ours at roughly the same time. It would be nice to compare notes on our driving experiences with them. We should exchange emails or something. Where are you located, if you don't mind my asking?
1971 MGBGT for me.
I hear ya brother. I bought my first car, a 1967 MG Midget in 1974. I was 16 yrs old. and 6'1". Kindred spirits ... explains why we're both here.