Video: Solar car storms world stage
Aptera Motors says early editions of its two-person, three-wheel solar car have sold out and it has accepted US$100 million in pre-orders with more than 3000 vehicles reserved in the US and internationally.
Production of the solar EV is expected to start in 2021, the company claiming no charging up is needed for most daily use – even though it comes with a cable – and that it has up to 1609km range on a full 100kWh battery (top model).
The San Diego-based firm – which stalled in 2011 when it failed to secure funding for a three-wheeler EV – says it could never imagine the interest and support it has received following the announcement of its new solar car.
“We quickly sold out of our Aptera Paradigm and Paradigm+ editions on the first day, and things haven’t slowed down since,” Aptera says.
“We’ll be ramping (up) our production with a new facility in San Diego and two more development vehicles in the coming weeks, working towards our goal to begin deliveries in 2021 and early 2022.”
Aptera says its YouTube video is going viral with more 500,000 views.
The company leverages breakthroughs in lightweight structures, low-drag aerodynamics and cooling, material science, and manufacturing processes to deliver what it says is the most efficient vehicle ever made available to consumers.
“With Aptera’s Never Charge technology, you are driven by the power of the sun,” co-founder Chris Anthony says.
“Our built-in solar array keeps your battery pack topped off and anywhere you want to go, you just go.”
Never Charge is designed to harvest enough sunlight to travel more than 17702km annually in most regions, Aptera says.
About 180 solar cells are integrated into the Aptera’s body and can be configured to provide up to 72.4km range daily, the company explains.
The Aptera has a 177km/h top speed and can get to 96.5km/h in 3.5 seconds, while all-wheel drive and vectorised torque control give it comfort, stability control, and the ability to handle bad weather, it adds.
Adjustable settings built into Aptera’s user interface keep drivers updated with ways they can conserve energy and extend range in real time, and it has 0.7 cubic metres of storage.
Aptera says it has solved key challenges allowing for rapid, high-volume, and cost-efficient vehicle production – having just four main pieces.
A refundable reservation fee of US$100 applies for pre-orders of special edition Paradigm and Paradigm+ vehicles with prices put around US$25,900 to about US$46,900.
Clients can design and customise their own Aptera and choose ranges of 402km, 643km, 965km or 1609km.
Aptera is the first in a series of eco-friendly vehicles that will be offered for consumer and commercial use, the company says.
Visit www.aptera.us for more information.
Join the conversation (2)
This is a phenomenal vehicle if it stacks up as claimed (hmm). I commute about 30km, and in summer I could almost never need to charge. That would save about $1500 a year in overall running cost vs my current hybrid. Of course in NZ with tax etc., USD $25k ends up more like NZD $50k. So it still doesn’t add up if frugality is the goal, and it will be some time before new EVs become the overall mainstream option in NZ. That won’t happen until good EVs are in the $15k USD range.
At 1600k range with a full battery, you could do Auckland to Wellington *and back* on a single charge, even if they’re using NEDC. That’s bonkers and probably completely unnecessary! For most folks the 400 mile (600k) version would be more than plenty.
There are some stats missing however. The weight penalty of the bigger packs would surely reduce the solar range per day, and I can see parking this on the street being a major vandalism magnet. That’s assuming they ever sell it in RHD, which is far from a given.
The aptera was and still is my favourite EV, but if you guys want to make it a success you must better your price, Tesla is coming out with a 25k car to dominate the lower end of the market because all other markets have been clearly established as TESLA territory he’s done that by providing a car that has unrivalled technology whilst all the others are trying to catch up to TESLA it’s really a lost battle. So now here comes Aptera a bit late in the game but it comes with a secret weapon “Integrated solar panels” capable of charging up to 72 km daily, fast charging, GREAT RANGE, light weight, efficient great aerodynamics, high grade composite materials etc, etc… if you want to really crush the market in your range there is only one thing you need to do because everything else you have done…!!! “LOWER THE PRICE” remember Tesla is coming with a 25k car soon so your time to shine is now… you have 3000 reservations which is great but wouldn’t 300,000 be better…??? GOOD TO SEE THE APTERA BACK…!!! WELL DONE