They're baaaack. GCR: 1,000 mile electric car unveiled; Aptera returns 10 years later

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EVDRIVER said:
I drove the 2e and I'm very familiar with the nonsense that went on at Aptera and it's not from the founders. Aptera failed because of the incompetent fools that came in and took over later blowing money on high salaries and $1000 office chairs. Surprisingly these new management "experts" people came from the ICE world. Anyone who knows the real story knows there were not a scam and were basically pushed out of business, many believed intentionally. Most of the comments here are based on ignorance of the company, the 2e was quite an amazing vehicle and had incredible cargo capacity. It was one of the funnest and coolest EVs I have ever driven. The events in that company were a bit of a scam but not from the founders. The demise of Aptera was pretty sad and pretty pathetic for those that know the real story and those that followed it closely were pretty disappointed about what the new leadership did.

My memory may be fuzzy or wrong but my most negative impression of the Aptera company was stringing along investors that ultra-capacitors were just around the corner.
 
You mean after the company was hijacked? Steve went on a permanent vacation. Marcus the clown and his other friends drove the place into the ground sucking money rather than doing what the founders intended. There were two parties involved and one had real intentions, they were the competent ones.
 
EVDRIVER said:
You mean after the company was hijacked? Steve went on a permanent vacation. Marcus the clown and his other friends drove the place into the ground sucking money rather than doing what the founders intended. There were two parties involved and one had real intentions, they were the competent ones.

So you are really saying that this project is a dud, and money sucker to investors.. That is what I had originally said.
 
Good thing Aptera founders publicly acknowledged past mistakes and pledged never get this kind of people near the company. Besides, they did not defraud anybody in the past and I doubt it would happen going forward. Production starts mid 2020 and I could not wait to see this great EV car ;)
 
Leaf15 said:
Good thing Aptera founders publicly acknowledged past mistakes and pledged never get this kind of people near the company. Besides, they did not defraud anybody in the past and I doubt it would happen going forward. Production starts mid 2020 and I could not wait to see this great EV car ;)

Keep on dreamin...
 
The original team was taken over, the second team screwed it up. It's not complicated and the original members were no nonsense. I don't think people here know the long complicated story. Another MNL thread full of misinformed FUD. What next, no demand stories?
 
EVDRIVER said:
The original team was taken over, the second team screwed it up. It's not complicated and the original members were no nonsense. I don't think people here know the long complicated story. Another MNL thread full of misinformed FUD. What next, no demand stories?

EVDRIVER;
Appears there is another "They're baaaack" - with backup?? here's the "reserve" info - https://www.aptera.us/shop

You seemed to know the back story of the first baaaack. What's your opinion now?

My "back of the envelope" calcs show (actually amazed me) that their claims of 1000 miles could be acheivable if you use the parameters that they have claimed. Especially if they have included the full complement of solar panels (3 sq meters) AND max irradiance in their calculations - with the most high efficient cells available. The most exciting part to me is this is a nano-grid on wheels! But that requires that they activate some type of bi-directional energy protocols.

Like the Lilium, it's really out there - a true advance in EVs that American ingenuity can claim currently (just my opinion).

I must confess, I fell for the Fenix Power "reserve" early on - with the full knowledge that it was an outside risk - but just hoping it would result in a realistic commercial operation. I have signed up for the Hummer EV - knowing that I'll likely not order it, but having the backup of GM, I'm not worried. Probably will not "reserve" the Aptera - although I'd sure like to have one that approaches their claims. I was able to actually sit in the Endurance at a show - IMO, it has a promising future, especially in their target arena of "fleet" vehicles. They do need to activate bi-directional protocols for the resilience (microgrids) of the fleet owners for it to make sense - again just my opinion. The reps did not even know what type of charge connector(s) it was going to have - so who knows!
 
3 square meters of solar panels seem a bit to small to generate enough power to go 40 miles. Assuming 150 w/m Tested, 5.5 hr/day, 90% efficiency in getting power to the motor and 1 mile/kwh I come up with a bit over 20 miles of range. Perhaps they are thinking you start with a full battery, drive 20 miles to work and let the car sit in the sun to recover the power used. Problem with this is if you don't recharge at home you will eventually run out of power.

On other sites there's been a lot of criticism of the Endurance pickup using hub motors due to the increased unsprung weight of the motors making handling difficult. Apteria uses a smaller hub motor from the same manufacture. Even though a smaller and lighter hub motor is used the ratio of spring to unsprung is even worse because the vehicle is so light. I wonder if this criticism has any merit, if so the ride and handling of the Alters may not be very comfortable.
 
I put down my $100 deposit on the first Aptera, but like everyone else, got it back and bought a Leaf. They had a crazy forum that was fun to read (unlike most of this thread).
 
The Polaris Slingshot of electric cars. It looks fun to drive, but the market for this would be miniscule in North America. I'll grant that even if they are overestimating by a factor of two on the solar panels, it would be good for those in Arizona to drive a lot of their miles without ever charging (assuming the pack can be okay sitting out in the heat).
 
LKK said:
3 square meters of solar panels seem a bit to small to generate enough power to go 40 miles. Assuming 150 w/m Tested, 5.5 hr/day, 90% efficiency in getting power to the motor and 1 mile/kwh I come up with a bit over 20 miles of range. Perhaps they are thinking you start with a full battery, drive 20 miles to work and let the car sit in the sun to recover the power used. Problem with this is if you don't recharge at home you will eventually run out of power.

Yes, this could get interesting as there are now commercial panels that produce 200 watt/sq meter - they may have some "super cells".
If they count the drive time in full sun in their calcs - that could increase the range - especially if you a really slow driver! Might be 6 hours equivalent daily watt-hrs at full panel rating??
With these parameters and 6 hours of full panel rating/per day, driving in full sun at 40 mph, probably could claim 40 miles. :mrgreen:
 
LKK said:
3 square meters of solar panels seem a bit to small to generate enough power to go 40 miles. Assuming 150 w/m Tested, 5.5 hr/day, 90% efficiency in getting power to the motor and 1 mile/kwh I come up with a bit over 20 miles of range.
10 mile/kwh
 
Marktm said:
LKK said:
3 square meters of solar panels seem a bit to small to generate enough power to go 40 miles. Assuming 150 w/m Tested, 5.5 hr/day, 90% efficiency in getting power to the motor and 1 mile/kwh I come up with a bit over 20 miles of range. Perhaps they are thinking you start with a full battery, drive 20 miles to work and let the car sit in the sun to recover the power used. Problem with this is if you don't recharge at home you will eventually run out of power.

Yes, this could get interesting as there are now commercial panels that produce 200 watt/sq meter - they may have some "super cells".
If they count the drive time in full sun in their calcs - that could increase the range - especially if you a really slow driver! Might be 6 hours equivalent daily watt-hrs at full panel rating??
With these parameters and 6 hours of full panel rating/per day, driving in full sun at 40 mph, probably could claim 40 miles. :mrgreen:
Go read their web site carefully. You will find that they claim 9-11K miles added per year. An Aptera with all the panels installed is quoted as 700 watts of panels. Also most of the panels are nearly horizonal. That's not going to help much, in fact you will lose 13% efficiency according to the PVWatts simulator. At best you would gain 30 miles a day on average and that's if you can park it in full sun. The panels cost $900 for an additional 434 watts of panels. In southern CA with high electric costs it could pay off in 4 years or less. If you live in an area with more reasonable rates ( say $.10/KWH) It might take 15 years to pay for itself. If you already have PV installed it makes no sense at all and just charge at home as necessary.

The 400 mile range probably makes the most sense. The 250 mile range is a little short and honestly the 1000 mi range is way overkill. Even the 600 mile range is more than anyone needs.
 
Nubo said:
The upcoming Aptera will offer integrated solar panels that charge the main pack. Thanks to the much higher efficiency of the vehicle, such a scheme could actually provide some meaningful range boost.
"Up to 40 miles / day" is their claim. That's if you park all day in the sun, and only if you have the car with the camera rear-view rather than a mirror (since that lets them cover the back hatch in PV panels).
 
jlv said:
"Up to 40 miles / day" is their claim. That's if you park all day in the sun, and only if you have the car with the camera rear-view rather than a mirror (since that lets them cover the back hatch in PV panels).



Although likely not directly equivalent, but my experience with two efficient solar systems is as follows:
  • Best day ever in south Texas was 6 equivalent hours of panels total wattage to determine the kWh daily
  • Most good days are more like 5 hours due to panel placement, dirt, heat, etc.
  • Using 4 -5 miles/kWh, the required kWh to achieve 40 miles would be 8-10 kWh daily.
  • This will require @5 hrs => 1.6 - 2 kW of panels
  • @6 hours => 1.4 - 1.7 kW
  • Using the best XL style panels rated at around 440 watts, this would require at least three, likely four of 82"x42" panels

My Leaf could probably put the equivalent of 1-1.5 of these panels incorporated in the roof and hatch - which is not the best for direct sun!

Overall, I'd question how they get this range enhancement to fully understand what the pragmatic answer will be.
 
Marktm said:
  • Using 4 -5 miles/kWh
IIRC, Aptera is also claiming close to double that. It'll be interesting to see what they actually are able to produce.

I did see their latest update video. I didn't know they'd decided on a yoke steering wheel. Ugh.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1sGRVFHFY10
 
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