Aptera Shows Off Its Development Vehicle

December 5, 20203 years ago Jennifer Sensiba 0 Comments

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After today’s announcement, Aptera Motors gave us all a peek at the first Aptera built (not counting my toy Apteras, of course — more on that below). Preorders are now open for $100, and if you use this referral link, you can get your order in for $30 off (CleanTechnica staff will get a free one if enough of you use our link, and you can count on us to test it rather extensively.)

The first thing they showed us was the light weight of the vehicle. Even sitting on a stool, he was able to move it back and forth with the lightest of pushes. This means the vehicle will have very low rolling resistance, which, along with the great aerodynamics, will lead to great range.

They also gave us more details on how they arrived at telling us today that Aptera will be the first “Never Charge” EV. I’ve already seen our Twitter fans telling us that they thought the idea was fiction, so this is important. They took the same cells as this prototype vehicle and laid them out in the same orientation and direction as a real Aptera would see under normal San Diego conditions. After a year of testing, they were confident that it would produce 2–4 kWh per day, giving more range than many people use. Either way, there will still be a plug, so it’s not a feature that you’d have to rely on.

They also explained that the vehicle is set up for camping and can comfortably fit two adults and one pet for sleeping. With an attachable tent and the panels, it’s possible to use the battery and solar to make camping more comfortable.

In another video, Aptera developers gave a quick view around the real vehicle.

On Wednesday, they will be hosting another live video session with technical questions and answers, so much more detail will be available.

Before I go, I also want to thank the Aptera team for the cool toys they sent us a while back. While it’s been tough to keep them away from my youngest son, they’re quite cool. We look forward to working with the Aptera team in the future to test and make sure everything is up to par.