New Aptera

[sprkthead2]

Golf is not exactly enviromentally friendly. Wrong assoc.

[jamesqf]

Originally Posted by Old Tele man

...OK, think: two hunting rifles and a fishing tackle box.

For me it would be two backpacks and a dog :-)

The two hunting rifles doesn't work, unless you're a really bad shot. You need room to bring back whatever you've killed.

[jamesqf]

Originally Posted by SentraSE-R

We'll see the Leaf. I seriously doubt we'll ever see the Aptera marketed.

But what you WON'T see is me buying a Leaf, 'cause I'm not into boring muffin-cars even if they are electric. Whereas I would buy an IC-engined Aptera, or a hybrid version, sooner than the pure electric.

[NeilBlanchard]

Here's the 4 seat, 4 door Aptera "Palomar" that could have been:



Interesting aerodynamics, don't you think? This is in the same vein as the Aptera 2e, and with Morelli type designs in general.

[cfg83]

Neil -

Looks like a pretty version of the Pininfarina(?) "banana car".

CarloSW2

[gone-ot]

...looks like another "...I could've been a contender..." design that won't/didn't make it to market (along with the other ...little piggies...).

...add your own Rocky Balboa voicing(s) as necessary.

[Frank Lee]

Why would they be fooling around with that when they don't even have V1 up and running? I know why: to hopefully pull in more investor bucks.

[NeilBlanchard]

This is their internal design exercise -- it is only something that could have been... Of course, they would have to have built the 2e and sold 'em -- they are floundering and probably will not go anywhere.

This is the first/only glimpse of what they were hoping to develop as a second car. And yes the Morelli design is the "banana" car. This has a more elegant solution for the rear wheels -- it is really hard to have an "ideal" aerodynamic shape "floating" above the ground, and have the wheels not mess things up.

[brucey]

5 years later, and still not coming out anytime soon.

Yeah, vaporware, look out investors!

[NeilBlanchard]

Well, vaporware is a little harsh -- they have a fine design, and many of the working prototypes would have been great as production models. They got "serious" and hired "experts" and they chewed through the money they had. They went all conventional on a very unconventional design. Death by a thousand cuts ... or something.

Again, this "Palomar" design is only a concept and will never see the light of day -- the founders hoped to build it later on, but then the experts were brought on, and things have gone seriously downhill since then.

So, yeah, vaporware but not through deception; but rather incompetence.

I posted the image because it is an interesting design; not because I think that Aptera will ever build it.