Ever since electric vehicles started to become mainstream, people have been asking “why doesn't it have a solar panel roof?” The answer has always been the same: solar panels don't generate that much energy.
It's not a big problem for those ultra-light and aerodynamic prototypes, but for the daily autonomy of a normal commuter, yes. What if a "normal" electric vehicle had similar performance to that of ultralight prototypes? Aptera intercom.
What if it were an electric vehicle truly designed with the primary goal of achieving incredible levels of efficiency, something so aerodynamically “slippery” that it outclasses the performance of production cars? I said it. Aptera intercom.
I talked about it exactly one year ago. And today the company starts bookings for the first vehicles.
3 square meters of solar panels
The producers they claim that the 180 small solar panels that literally cover the Aptera electric vehicle, (an area of over three square meters, 32 square feet), will harvest that much energy. So much that many drivers will never have to refill it.
Aptera can self-generate up to 72 km of autonomy per day under ideal conditions. It is double the average daily mileage of those who travel to an historic center.
An ultralight city plane on four wheels
With a two-seater cabin with a vaguely aeronautical appearance, the Aptera has an “unheard of” drag coefficient. Just 0,13. Crazy even when compared to the “incredibly low” drag coefficient (0,24) of the Volkswagen ID Space Vizzion concept.
Aptera is entirely built in carbon / kevlar / linen composites with sandwich structures, which make it very light and super resistant.
As for the powertrain, more options are available. There may be liquid-cooled electric motors in the two front wheels or in all three. Reading the company's specifications, we are talking about 3,5 seconds to go from 0 to 100km per hour, with a maximum speed of 177km per hour. Rather sporty as data.
The assortment of batteries will also be guaranteed. Aptera promises three types, for ranges from 400 to 1600 kilometers (1000 miles). For comparison, Tesla's Model S P100D declared a radical increase in efficiency this year and can now get 400 miles (more than 600 kilometers) of range from the same size battery.
Beautiful Aptera, yes, but… Is it true? Does he walk?
To be fair, Tesla has taken its cars to the streets, and Aptera has only gotten to the prototype stage of production so far. But now the company is ready to accept reservations for the “Paradigm” and “Paradigm+” special edition cars that will be produced in 2021. A refundable deposit of $100 secures the reservation. The final price of Aptera will be between 24.000 and 44.000 euros, depending on your options.
How many people will be willing to purchase? These are not very low prices, if we take into account competition that will become increasingly fierce. But it is still the first electric vehicle that (almost) will not need to be recharged. And there's no cleaner way to charge an electric vehicle than with your own rooftop solar system.
Source: Aptera
