Aptera Reboot - Improved

[Isaac Zachary]

Originally Posted by Cd

but I wish I had also been looking at the good things Aptera is doing this time around.

There's their YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/ApteraMotors/videos

And their website: https://www.aptera.us/

I love the Aptera concept. I have no idea if this time it will take off or not, I'm no expert. Will I every buy one? I don't know. I've never bought a new car and don't really need a personal vehicle either. If they make a 4 or 5 seater or after the kids grow up and move out I might look into getting one. But sadly I don't think they're going to sell a lot.

[oil pan 4]

I might buy one just to troll people, kind of like I did with the leaf but the leaf is really useful and needs hardly any maintenance. If the apthara hub motors can out last a set of tires I'll think about it. I may be driving a coal rolling VW oil burner by then.
My prediction is apthara missed their chance to gain market foot hold the first time around. If they bring a product to market it will be short lived. I expect now with all hybrids getting 40+mpg easy, plenty of plug in hybrids, plenty of electrics. The only thing apthara has going for it now will be the weird factor. And the weird factor market will hit saturation pretty quick.
The poison pill is the hub motors, as far as I can tell apthara hasn't demonstrated the hub motors can out last a set of tires.
The leaf drive train by comparison the weak link is the transmission, it fails around 160,000 to 180,000 miles if you never change the oil, as far as I know worn out motors are few and far between, the motor bearings just seem to get more prone to random failure beyond 200,000 miles.

Originally Posted by Isaac Zachary

Roush is also doing the door hardware.

Just the door hardware?
Well then, back to vapor.

[Isaac Zachary]

I'd have to look it up if they're doing any more of the car, but Roush is doing at least the suspension and doors.

As far as the hub motors go they've gone through a lot of testing over the last several years. Electric motors are getting smaller, more efficient and more powerful. It has just been a matter of time before they were small and strong enough to have made sense in wheel hubs.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jTbQSKq34bo

[oil pan 4]

Hub motors have been around for a long time, strength, power torque aren't the problem it's high speed durability and their weight in real world conditions.
I remember the pre-volt days, it seemed like every major manufacturer wanted to be the first to bring a hub motor electric car to market, the US army was working on a hybrid hub motor hmmwv. The same thing killed all of them, the hub motors only lasting 10,000 miles or so in real world conditions.
Do I have faith that apthara solved a problem that GM, darpa, the US army and a few other too big to fail companies couldn't solve?
Eh, I'm suspiciously optimistic.

Doesn't appear to be real world. We already know a 4 wheel vehicle can go round a race track on hub motors, going back to about 2008. We also know a traditional cool EV like a tesla sport will mop the track with a hub motor car.
It's looking like the hub motors will be another "we don't need an anti sway bar" moment, but it won't be immediately obvious.

I saw they had what appears to be hours the test had been running continuously.
Lets compare. My leaf has been on the road for about 11 years, has nearly 100,000 miles at 34mph average speed, that comes out to 2,800 hours and we know the leaf will go for at least double that, as long as you change the battery 2 or 3 times.
Some of the "tests" show the "speed", 40kph, lol. :facepalm:
The leaf can take a 2 inch deep pot hole at 130kph and has been for 11 years.
Magic eight ball says "outlook not good".

[sheepdog 44]

Goddam does the new Aptera look absolutely sexy though.

[oil pan 4]

Well let's hope they build it. The tests I have seen so far are not inspiring any confidence.

[samwichse]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sq5hjSnZ-8k

Progress video.

They talk about everything they're improving in design. But they don't talk much about production. I remain in the camp of "it will never happen, but I wish it would."

[rmay635703]

Originally Posted by oil pan 4

Well let's hope they build it. The tests I have seen so far are not inspiring any confidence.

Watch the videos of the HMV Freeway

Aptera is a Cadillac by comparison

[freebeard]

Bigger on the inside, slicker on the outside.

I hadn't known about the all-wheel-drive variant. That puts them on par with Nobe.

They talk about everything they're improving in design. But they don't talk much about production.

They give a time-frame, twice.

The HMV Freeway ain't no Messerschmitt KR-200.

[oil pan 4]

So basically everything was wrong in the alpha and nothing lives on in the next prototype.