Now there are two cars, the latest being the Sol. I would really like to see Aptera prove that their cars are as efficient as they continue to claim. Top off the battery in the Sol and then drive it until it stops and then tell us how far it got on that one charge. It is one thing to say the car can go 1000 miles on a charge and it is an entirely different thing to actually accomplish that feat. Another thing I'd like to know is what the turning radius is on the Aptera. My Prius publishes that it has a 16.7 foot turning radius. What is the Aptera's? I only ask because the Aptera form an aerial shot looks like the tires can't turn very far without hitting the body. Aptera keeps asking for us to invest more money to keep them afloat and to me it is a hard sell because they haven't provided much if any in the way of proof that the car can do what they claim and imagine it can. Smoke and mirrors until these 2 cars show what they can do and Aptera publishes it.
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I watched the entire presentation today and was impressed with the tech they are using to get things right aerodynamically and also suspension-wise with Rousch, and motor-wise with Elaphe . I got to say that the first time I actually see an Aptera in the flesh will be pretty darned cool. Might be a while out here in Omaha, NE. I would love to take one for a test drive. Hell, I'd like to have one.
Many really good points are being made.
Aptera says their claims of 10mi/kWh, 40+ solar miles/day, & 1,000 mile range are all based on the 3-motor 100kWh version. So the smaller, lighter 40kWh* battery in the 2-motor prototype should easily be able to do 10mi/kWh, 40+ solar, & 400 miles*, even without the the advantages of the final production motors, batteries, etc.
The longer they go without announcing that, the more I'll suspect it's not quite making it, HOWEVER, even if it's significantly less efficient than all the claims, it will still almost certainly be by far the best in the world.
*Or 600 miles if it's 60kWh, or maybe it's something in-between, like 47kWh, but that would just be 470 miles....
For sure, no ill will here. Actually my wife would have to be the one to talk into the Aptera. I have vowed that I will not ever purchase another ICE powered motorcycle or car. Our plug-in Prius has shown us how nice it is to not be going to the gas station but once in a great while. Never will be way better. Sick of oil changes also and all the crap that goes wrong with motorcycles and cars and it is usually something with the ICE.
Just to let everyone here know, I very much want Aptera to be a home run. I like the way it looks. Reminds me of that Helicopter in Airwolf , a show starring Jan Michael Vincent back in 1984. Loved that show. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0086662/?ref_=nmbio_sal_2
Am I investing in Aptera, not yet. I'd like to but have too many doubts and have thrown away too many dollars over the years to have not learned from it. Have I put money down for an Aptera, No. Why not? I would prefer a 4 wheel model. Already own 4 motorcycles and 2 Prius's. Maybe I'll buy when these 3 wheelers hit the road and prove themselves roadworthy and real world driving proves the miles per charge claims. Time flies and before you know it we will see whether or not Aptera deliveries happen when Aptera has promised. Finding it hard to believe that they will be ready to ship cars by the end of this year but honestly, Godspeed to Aptera.
@Craig Alberhasky testing of the sort you describe is not done using first-generation, pre-production prototypes. Noir, Sol and Luna don't have the actual motors, aero or suspension systems that will be found in the later-generation prototypes, when all of those systems will have been optimized.
What Aptera has found is that the alpha prototypes are matching or bettering IRL the computer simulations upon which they are based. The company would not keep saying "1000 mile range" unless they were certain they could achieve it - why set themselves up to fail?
The same goes with the full solar package: They know that the system, on a sunny day, can store enough power to drive the vehicle an average of 47 miles based on real-world simulations. Have they actually driven one 47 miles based on a full solar package charge? No - but they're certain it's going to work when they do.
Is Aptera alone in making claims about their vehicles before production? No - just look at Lucid: They made all sorts of predictions about their vehicles when they were still just computer models and mock-ups. Now that the Lucid Air is on the road and nearly ready for production all of their predictions are coming true.
My Prius phev has a very tight turning radius. Though I have not measured it myself, Toyota publishes that it is 16.7 ft Radius which would be a 33.4 ft turning circle unless I am not accounting for something. All I know is that one of the first things I noticed about our Prius is how tight a U-turn it can make.
@Craig Alberhasky
I kind of doubt that it's an issue, since I assume it's okay on a Can-Am Spyder or Polaris Slingshot*. Either way, it's likely not ideal to describe it as low % of weight on a tire, since a typical FWD car has about 20% on each rear wheel & Aptera has 1.5 times as much (30%).
Still it sure wouldn't hurt Aptera to film a quick vid of cornering over a speedbump in an empty parking lot, with a giant bold red caption:
"PROTOTYPE SHOWN
PRODUCTION VECHICLE WILL BE BETTER"
*I haven't yet found any youtubes of them doing the antics described above, but if me or anyone else does, we need to remember they're both RWD, in case that makes any difference.
Their June 9th video touches on turning radius improvement:
https://www.aptera.us/forum/general-discussions/beta-update-webinar-from-june-9
Maybe not to your level of requested detail
The Production battery packs and offered size packs are not in the Alpha vehicles so we will have to wait for a more meaningful report on that. ( Not sure on Luna being outfitted ?)
Perhaps the Beta models will get us there… as they should look more like the Production model
I hope this helps somewhat.
Aptera's latest appeal by email and video to and for investors calls their car a 1000 mile car and they call out the Sol. I truly want everything to be on the up and up but I keep having this feeling that this car can't possibly be ready for delivery to customers by the end of the year but they keep saying it will be. I would rather see videos of their two cars being put through their paces then to see two gals meeting friends at the beach. What good is that? I want to see those cars parking in a big box store lot, parallel parking, cruising for 100's of miles without charging, negotiating pot holes and speed bumps, doing emergency high speed stops. I'd like to see what happens when you are going 60 mph around a curve and that rear wheels falls into a big hole in the road. Does that rear wheel pop into the air and move the rear to the side thereby making the driver lose control or does the 3 wheeler act like nothing happened and everything is easy peasy. Aptera needs to show how safe this car/motorcycle is.
"Smoke & mirrors" might be a bit harsh, but:
@Ozman ...Paradigm Plus I'm not impressed by using torque-vectoring to improve low-speed turning radius, since it requires scrubbing the rear tire sideways across the ground.
& the 400-mile pack is even easier to do a real-world test, since they only need to drive it 400 miles!
Also very easy to test 0-60. 0-30, stopping distance, & cornering Gs.
I agree with wanting to see actual testing of the vehicles, keep in mind though that the Alphas are, I believe, 400 mile battery packs. (they have mentioned in passing that it is a challenge to fit the 1000 mile pack into the vehicle, thus they are slated for the fourth production run.) For the turning radius, they have stated that they will likely use the control of the individual wheel engines to achieve a better turn radius and control than would be possible with a central engine.