Since its an “Autocycle” (a 3 wheeled motorcycle driven with a steering wheel & pedals) you don’t need a motorcycle license nor a helmet, at least in most states and provinces of Canada.
https://www.ncsl.org/research/transportation/transportation-review-autocycles.aspx.
4 Likes
Love this super efficient vehicle.
With its biggest battery option it can go 1000 miles on a single 100 KWH charge. That’s NYC to Orlando with no stops, if your bladder could handle it.
That’s too much for me. (I ordered the 600 mile range one.)
Now they have over 5000 pre-orders. That means you’ll need to wait something like 2 years if you added your order today. 
3 Likes
I wouldn’t pre-order anyway. Electric vehicle startups are notoriously failure prone, and best case scenario is you get to be basically a beta tester for their platform. Let it mature a bit before you jump in.
2 Likes
You put them on the roof-rack. Oh, wait.
(Throwing shade about throwing shade.)
3 Likes
Yeah, well, my dad had a Messerschmidt in 1957, so I guess it just runs in the family.
1 Like
This is a rare case when the marketing video actually made an unreleased product seem more plausible. They sound like they’re focused on the product, not the grandiose “changing the world” hype, and the claims they’re making seem realistic. Other than, yes, the “zero drag” thing, but that sounds like hyperbole rather than a literal woo-woo claim – I took it to mean they’ve let aerodynamics drive the design in a more fundamental way than normal ground vehicles do, and that certainly looks like it’s true.
Of course I will never in my life drive something like this, but I can believe that for some people in California it’s a realistic and possibly good option.
Speaking of stability, who knows, but in some of the shots it looks like the front wheels are set VERY wide, which I’d guess is related. It’s probably at least as safe as a lot of cars you would think twice about riding in, though it might take people a while to accept that on an emotional level.
The idea of taking it off-road is humorous though, with those ground-hugging wheel shells. I don’t think this car could negotiate my dad’s (steep) driveway without requiring several thousand dollars’ worth of monocoque replacement.
1 Like
True, that. That would be prudent. However, I decided I really want do what I can to help the success of a “car” company that emphasizes extremely efficient vehicles and over loud ones. Apparently another 5000+ people are feeling similarly. (And I’m also lookin’ forward to turning off traction control & doing reverse donuts with this thing.)
There’s more chance of a flying car before Aptera ship anything (i.e. none).
No need to be soo pessimistic. The flying car is here.
I’m in NJ. They say they’ve designed it with the Nordic markets in mind, with enough heat to keeping you comfy down to -20F. (In Norway more than half the cars sold are now EVs.)
Yeah, its wide, 88 inches from the outside edges of the wheel pants. That’s wider than any car I know of, although bigger trucks and trailers are wider. Aptera is not small, and weighs over a ton with its biggest battery.
Those wheel pants are 5 inches off the ground and have a high entrance angle. (My current car, a Chevy Volt, has a 3.5 inch clearance from its soft rubber air dam with not such a steep entrance angle. That part does scrape on steep driveways.)
You can get an “off road option” with even higher clearance.
That was a huge problem with them. Before practical affordable electrics like the Bolt came along, I took a serious look at the Smart. The mileage was pretty middling for all that you had to give up to drive one. There was no advantage to them that I could find, beyond ease of parking in NYC or whatever.
1 Like
Yeah, and even the parking advantage wasn’t all it was with the original Smart - the US version was notably larger, at least on the outside. (And provided zero benefit for metered/measured-space parking either way.)
1 Like
This topic was automatically closed after 5 days. New replies are no longer allowed.
