From East to West, Aptera Makes Headlines
Wednesday, 12 August 2009 | by
3.17.09 – It’s not every day that you get told your “cool factor is priceless,” especially not by the hosts of The CBS News Early Show. They put Aptera right at the “intersection of innovation and environmentalism” in this live feature from Washington, D.C.
See the link here.
3.17.09 – The Wall Street Journal reported on the Aptera-supported “Innovative Vehicle Act,” which would level the playing field for three- and four-wheeled vehicles being considered for the low-interest Department of Energy loan program. See the link here.
3.20.09 – Our name is Greek for wingless flight, and Car and Driver writer Steve Siler feels the aeronautical similarities are best observed while launching from a standstill, writing, “on full tilt it feels not unlike a Piper or Cessna on takeoff.”
See the link here.
3.20.09 – The ABC World News feature touted the Aptera, stating “you feel like you’re just in a regular car,” while highlighting the practicality and safety for the everyday commuter. See the link here.
4.1.09 – We caught the attention of the U.S. Department of State, who spent a day at Aptera conducting interviews and filming the Aptera 2e in action. They understand what we’re all about and created this two-minute video for America.gov, exposing Aptera to our nation’s leaders and a vast worldwide audience. You can also find it among the top ten videos in their Multimedia – videos page. See the link here.
4.21.09 – Wired Magazine has closely followed the progress of Aptera, so we stopped by their offices during our San Francisco trip and put writer Chuck Squatriglia in the driver’s seat. They left and wrote a detail-filled story calling the Aptera a “real car” that “moves with authority”. See the link here.
5.18.09 – Jay Leno knows a thing or two about cars, so when he called the Aptera 2e “the coolest electric car you’ve ever seen,” on The Tonight Show, it carried some clout. You can hear the rest of Leno’s glowing endorsement in this ten-minute video on Jay Leno’s Garage. See the link here.
6.28.09 – Leno also devoted his column in The Times, London’s biggest newspaper, to Aptera. He used phrases like “eco chic,” and “oodles of cool” to describe how Aptera “…has solved the biggest problem all eco-cars face – how to look chic while saving the planet.” See the link here.
No. 1 — September 23rd, 2009 at 8:40 am
Here are some more quotes and review comments:
The odds strongly suggest that the Aptera will join Tucker and Empire and the thousands of other defunct vehicle makers in history’s graveyard”it’s nothing personal, plenty of brilliant cars rest there.
The prototype has a curb weight of 1760 pounds, with the production model slated to weigh in at 1500 pounds. The battery range is projected at 100 miles with two 180 pound adults and 250 pounds of cargo.
In performance mode the vehicle is said to have a 0-60 time of less than ten seconds, and a top speed of 90 mph. Recharging overnight requires nothing more than a standard 110-volt plug.
Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it’s the Aptera 2e, a two-seat three-wheel electric golf cart that resembles a personal transportation pod out of Star Trek.
The LED taillamps double as a charge indicator when the vehicle is plugged in, illuminating in 25-percent increments from left to right across the back. A full charge is possible in eight hours from a 110-volt outlet or two to four hours with a 220-volt source.
Slipping inside the 2e was easy enough, but the process of sliding under the door and then swinging your legs up over the threshold might not be too easy for the arthritic. An upcoming design change is said to swing the rearmost edge of the door more forward, getting it out of the way of your head. Once situated in the thin, manually adjustable seats, passengers find themselves separated only by a thin console and an even thinner armrest. With such inboard positioning, the cabin offers head- and elbowroom in the range of a Smart Fortwo’s, only with several more feet of cargo space in the tapered shell behind the passengers.
The windshield offers a wide and vast view of the road ahead and the glossy skirted wheels on either side, although the view out the back is about as expansive as that from an ’84 Lamborghini Countach. A rearview camera will be on the options list, and that would be the first box we’d check.
More insulation may be necessary to quell road noise and motor whine, but overall, the 2e behaved far more normally than its exterior might suggest.
>>>Specifications<<<
VEHICLE TYPE: front-engine, front-wheel-drive, 2-passenger, 3-door hatchback
ESTIMATED BASE PRICE: $25,000–$40,000
ENGINE TYPE: single electric motor with 360-volt lithium battery pack
Power (SAE net): 70 hp
Torque (SAE net): 110 lb-ft @ 0 rpm
TRANSMISSION: single speed with 10:1 gear reduction
DIMENSIONS:
Wheelbase: 111.0 in Length: 173.0 in Width: 91.0 in Height: 53.0 in
Curb weight (mfr’s est): 1700 lb
PERFORMANCE (MFR’S EST):
Zero to 60 mph: 10.0 sec
Top speed (governor limited): 90 mph
VEHICLE RANGE
Full charge: 100-plus miles