Yes, it sounds futuristic right, but that is what Aptera Motors are building, an electric vehicle that doesn’t need daily charging. Let me explain how this company is achieving it. Aptera is building an electric vehicle with solar panels on board, that is not something new right, but this electric vehicle will be a pinnacle of efficiency, with a drag coefficient of 0.13 and a range of 10 miles per KW that is amazing isn’t it? Not only high-efficiency Aptera electric vehicle will also have a 1000 Mile (1600 Km) range. Let’s talk more
Aptera origin
Aptera founders Chris and Steve started working on electric cars way back in 2006, but at the time EV market was not that great, unlike today’s market. After a decade both the founders return to realize that, there are no electric car companies that are solely focusing on efficiency. So they started Aptera again in 2019 with the sole aim of building a lightweight and aerodynamic vehicle, two crucial aspects of electric cars. They wanted to build an sEV (solar electric vehicle) that will charge a vehicle from the sun for daily driving. Now in 2022, they have more than 27000 pre-orders, and they are preparing to start delivery from the end of this year.
Aptera vehicle
This company is launching this new 3-wheeler that is the size of a car with efficiency in mind. This vehicle is so aerodynamic that it has a drag coefficient of 0.13 which is one of the best in the automotive industry. Like Mercedes, EQXX has a drag coefficient of 0.17 and it is just a prototype car.
Let’s talk about some specs of this vehicle
Specs
You might think there would not be enough space for sitting and carrying luggage, and you feel cramped, but you’re mistaken. Aptera is very practical, you have 2 seats with a good room, an infotainment system and good acceleration. It also has scissor doors. Aptera claims 0-60 times ranging from 3.5 – 5.5 sec, which is fast by any standards.
This vehicle is powered by 3 motors that generate 210 hp. There are 4 models a 250-mile (400 km) range with a 23 kWh battery, a 400-mile (640 Km) range with a 41 kWh battery, a 600-mile (960 Km) range with a 60 kWh battery and a 1000-mile (1600 Km) range with a 100 kWh battery.
This car uses only 3 wheels which reduces weight and friction, and helps improves efficiency. This car is very light and only weighs ranges from 600 Kg to 1000 Kg for the 1000-mile range, which is impressive for an electric vehicle.
This vehicle has diamond-shaped solar panels on the roof, bonnet, boot lid and on the dashboard, which will provide 700 watts of continuous charging power. That is about 40 miles (64 Km) of range if you have a clear sunny day. This will allow you to drive your electric vehicle daily without charging daily.
This car has a big boot, and around 700 litres of storage space, which is very impressive for a 3-wheeler. This vehicle can also be used for camping by adding a tent with the boot lid up, you can also tilt the seats and get a room of 7 feet, which is a good enough room for sleeping.
This is can be driven in almost any temperature and surface, Aptera claims this vehicle can be driven in -20 to 125 degrees Fahrenheit of temperature. You can drive on snow, gravel and sand without any issues because of its all-wheel-drive and vectorized torque control.
Conclusion
Aptera is doing great work here. This kind of vehicle is what would change the automotive industry, I know this is just a start but we have to innovate like this to build sustainable vehicles in the future. Also, we are not opting for electric cars because of range anxiety, I think this vehicle will solve that. Imagine your electric vehicle doesn’t need charging daily, and if you opt for a 1000-mile range, you can drive anywhere without anxiety
We need this kind of sustainable electric vehicle in the market. You can drive for free if your commute is less than 60 Km/ day. What we operate today is only 25% efficient, petrol and diesel maximum efficient is 20-30%. And electric cars today are not sustainable.
Though this vehicle is yet to be in production, we do not have to wait long, by end of this year we can see a production car ready and delivered. I will write in detail about the vehicle when the production version is ready.
I am excited to know more about this vehicle, are you? Let us know in the comments
Thank you to the Aptera website for all the content and images
