Aptera cars are back

discostu1

I cant seem to see this posted, a lot of caveats, interesting design and the use of the "Solar roof" is intriguing...thoughts of the forum ???

https://www.inceptivemind.com/aptera-launches-1000-miles-solar-electric-car-needs-no-charging/16533/

Pkiernan

discostu1 wrote: »

I cant seem to see this posted, a lot of caveats, interesting design and the use of the "Solar roof" is intriguing...thoughts of the forum ???

https://www.inceptivemind.com/aptera-launches-1000-miles-solar-electric-car-needs-no-charging/16533/

3 wheelers will never have mass appeal.
Plus for the money of their top spec model you could buy a dual motor Cybertruck .

unkel

A Cd of just 0.13 is mighty impressive, the starting price of $26k a lot less so.

GarIT

I don't like the look of it and can't see a boot.


If solar panels are cost-effective on a regular electric car I'd love to see more of them.

unkel

GarIT wrote: »

If solar panels are cost-effective on a regular electric car I'd love to see more of them.

They are not. They're a gimmick. By all means we should plaster the roofs of our houses and other buildings with dirt cheap standard solar PV panels, but not our cars.

the_amazing_raisin

Looks cool, but totally impractical. There's a reason cars are car shaped, it's the best mix of practicality, efficiency and ease/cost of manufacturing that anyone has found

the_amazing_raisin

unkel wrote: »

They are not. They're a gimmick. By all means we should plaster the roofs of our houses and other buildings with dirt cheap standard solar PV panels, but not our cars.

Sono motors seems to disagree, but since they've yet to release a production vehicle, I'm inclined to agree with you.


There might be a point at which PV panels are cheaper or the same price as steel, in which case it'll make sense. Until then, it's just added cost


The one exception I would see is an electric campervan. Having solar panels to power the accessories and give a bit extra power into the HV battery would be useful. But that's more about stopping the camping equipment from eating into your range, not fully charging a vehicle using solar power alone

unkel

Sono did it more out of idealism is the impression I got. We had a thread about it, haven't heard anything from them since they had a rather desperate all or nothing fund raiser late last year. It's a pity as the car had real potential. Was going to be far too expensive though and one of the reasons for that was their using expensive solar panels

And don't get me wrong, if I ever were to buy a camper I would plaster the roof with panels