[NortonCommando]

.... They built a car for a niche audience but got mass market pre-orders. I wouldn't be surprised if we see the 4-wheeler 5-seater concept vehicle before the year is out.

Please guys, concentrate on what you are offering now.
Get the Aptera on the street before moving on to the next great thing.

 

[RacerX00]

Please guys, concentrate on what you are offering now.
Get the Aptera on the street before moving on to the next great thing.

They've already scaled back the plans to do just that. They had actually originally planned to have 2 more versions already at this point being designed a 7 seater AND a 5 seater. They killed the 7 seater and pushed back the 5-seater. My theory is this definitive departure from those plans were heavily influenced by Sandy Munro's involvement coupled with the understanding of just how many regulations and approvals you need for a DOT/NHTSA-approved 4-wheeler.

 

[GJETSON]

They've already scaled back the plans to do just that. They had actually originally planned to have 2 more versions already at this point being designed a 7 seater AND a 5 seater. They killed the 7 seater and pushed back the 5-seater. My theory is this definitive departure from those plans were heavily influenced by Sandy Munro's involvement coupled with the understanding of just how many regulations and approvals you need for a DOT/NHTSA-approved 4-wheeler.

Perhaps. That and the fact that supplies of everything, are much harder to come by than when they started.

 

[RacerX00]

Perhaps. That and the fact that supplies of everything, are much harder to come by than when they started.

Proof is in the pudding for me, if they truly start delivering cars in 2022 when they were simultaneously buying real estate while securing inventory for a startup EV company like a month ago, that's pretty compelling evidence it's far easier to produce a three wheeler classified as an auto-cycle than it is a 4-wheeler by orders of magnitude. If this car really is as safe as they say it will be then we really need to start asking questions about those regulations.

The speed at which they're going from design to delivery is like a fifth of that of Lucid and Rivian, for instance. Rivian was taking pre-orders in 2018 when Aptera wasn't even reborn yet. Meanwhile pretty much in a one year time span they're going to go from their "alpha" concept to delivery? That's just crazy.

The craziest thing is this car could have existed pretty much in spirit 20 years ago as a gasser. This could be a 1400 lb. 3 cylinder that does 0-60 in 4ish seconds that gets 70-100 mpg easily. The revolutionary aspect of the car is the designing around aerodynamics, the EV drive train is just the most efficient of the day that makes sense.

 

[GJETSON]

The craziest thing is this car could have existed pretty much in spirit 20 years ago as a gasser. This could be a 1400 lb. 3 cylinder that does 0-60 in 4ish seconds that gets 70-100 mpg easily. The revolutionary aspect of the car is the designing around aerodynamics, the EV drive train is just the most efficient of the day that makes sense.

Efficiency has never been a big seller in the US, where energy has always been cheaper than anywhere, except possible the middle east. We will start to worry about efficiency when it is too late...like in a decade.

 

[redpoint5]

You, sir, are at least interested in new tech when it comes to cars!
You talk about it, a lot. Don't know what you drive....
How often do you drive with more than one passenger?
How about it? You and me!! We cough up the reservation money and see what happens!!!
Or be patient and wait for a 2-3 year old one???

I'm a bit of a technophile, but like you, wait until things are out for a while so that a. I'm not paying top dollar and b. the tech has been vetted by others.

My garage:

2017 Mazda CX-5 (company issued car)
2006 Acura TSX (bought in 2010)
1998.5 Ram 2500 diesel (Ebay auction 2004)
2006 Honda CBR600 (gifted)
2001 Honda CBR600 (Ebay auction 2003)

90% of my drives are with the family of 4 since I work from home. 10% are by myself to the grocery or hardware store, or a work trip.

I like the patience approach, as usual.

The don't have 10k per year pre-orders, they have 100k per year pre-orders. I agree with you 100% but I will say there's something noticeably different here than say the Slingshot or Can-Am Spyder.

I wouldn't bet my retirement on it but I think this has a true ability to exceed the common niche status it was striving for. The biggest thing holding it back at this point I think is the 2-seater aspect. They built a car for a niche audience but got mass market pre-orders. I wouldn't be surprised if we see the 4-wheeler 5-seater concept vehicle before the year is out.

My expectation is wild initial demand with a faster than usual taper off. Many expectations will be let down when they realize they just have to plug the thing in rather than recharge in the sun. Then there's the reduced utility aspect and harsh ride (speculation on my part). For some, it will be the absolute best vehicle for them.

I'm also curious what percent of reservations will be converted to purchases.

 

[RacerX00]

Efficiency has never been a big seller in the US, where energy has always been cheaper than anywhere, except possible the middle east. We will start to worry about efficiency when it is too late...like in a decade.

Agreed, the exotic nature of the EV drive train coupled with the solar charging are surely the gimmicks that, while are massively impactful are still secondary to the main point, .13 drag coefficient with minimal ground contact. But they were also wholly necessary for viability and the only reason there's well over 20k preorders.

 

[LectricBill]

Just asking, how much did you pay for the custom Wiburs setup installed? Last quote I got was almost two grand.

Reason for asking, I did a similar but different custom suspension setup of which I was justifiably proud. There was an occasion to show it to an OEM engineer and his take, "Yes, we know about those and how to do what you did. However, it could never make the cost-benefit cut. Our suspension parts essentially have to be ten dollar parts and yours are a thousand-and-ten dollar parts.

Can't remember cost, but if I did, it would be irrelevant: too many years ago!

 

[GJETSON]

Lightyear 0 Production Solar EV Unveiled As Improved Lightyear One

The Lightyear 0 has a targeted WLTP range of 388 miles and its solar panels alone can produce enough power to cover up to 44 miles a day in sunny countries.

insideevs.com

 

[GJETSON]

 

[BoltEUV]

If only you could combine it with the complexity of flying and extensive trip planning.

Aeromobil

 

[Ronglos]

Perfect car for me. Zone 4 says 25 miles per day without charging. $25,900 sounds good. How fast can it go?

110 MPH

 

[Boltsport]

Looks like the way to go. They'll sell like hotcakes in the desert.

I'm getting 4.8 miles/kwh on my EUV, got 5.4 miles/kwh on my '19 EV after the first recall. Up from 4.9 miles/kwh. That's in suburban regen driving. The Bolt is pretty efficient, even if the numbers have to be adjusted downward a bit.

Those big Chevy trucks and SUVs will be heavier and less efficient.

 

[NortonCommando]

...I'm getting 4.8 miles/kwh on my EUV, got 5.4 miles/kwh on my '19 EV after the first recall. Up from 4.9 miles/kwh.
That's in suburban regen driving.

What's 'regen driving'?
Isn't regen the act of slowing down. You get regen in the Bolt and other EV's if you are decelerating.
You have to fiddle-fart to slow down without regen, (shift to N and use friction brakes).
Those numbers look right for 'suburban' driving.

Any news on the Aptera front?

 

[GJETSON]

 

[MisterJJ]

EV Enthusiasts: Average commute is 30 miles round trip. You don't need high range!
Also EV Enthusiasts: OMG! Look at how high the range on this vehicle is! Game changer!

 

[Martin D]

EV Enthusiasts: Average commute is 30 miles round trip. You don't need high range!
Also EV Enthusiasts: OMG! Look at how high the range on this vehicle is! Game changer!

Depends on how the fast charging system is on it I guess. I would imagine that it could cut a few hours out of a cross country trek if it charges at even 150 kW. I would have to look up the capacity of the 1000 mile battery, but isn’t it like 60-70 kWh? Or less? The Cd is .19?

A Taycan or M S is going to be several hundred miles away when the Aptera arrives in NYC.

 

[MisterJJ]

Depends on how the fast charging system is on it I guess. I would imagine that it could cut a few hours out of a cross country trek if it charges at even 150 kW.

A light weight two seater for cross country EV treks. To calculate the people in the market for that kind of vehicle I almost had to use two hands.

 

[redpoint5]

The ride quality is going to be so poor that nobody is going to travel 1000 miles except for a stunt to prove it can be done. There's absolutely no point in offering that kind of range.

Even with a 500 mile range, the car would be able to charge so quickly that stopping 2 more times for like 10 minutes to add 200 miles of range would be trivial.

 

[atc98092]

The ride quality is going to be so poor that nobody is going to travel 1000 miles except for a stunt to prove it can be done. There's absolutely no point in offering that kind of range.

Even with a 500 mile range, the car would be able to charge so quickly that stopping 2 more times for like 10 minutes to add 200 miles of range would be trivial.

500 miles is likely the absolute limit anyone would drive in a day, expect for a few diehard road warriors. When I was looking at a cross country trip to take a job detail a number of years ago, 5-600 miles was the most I was planning for. Government rules only require around 350 miles a day to be considered a full day's travel. A 500 mile car would likely be 400 miles under worst case weather/road conditions. Everyone is going to have to stop every so often for a bathroom break, and likely a food stop as well. Even travelling alone I was figuring on stopping every 2-3 hours, even if only for a quick stop. The car I was planning to take at the time had about a 500 mile range at freeway speeds (Niro PHEV).