Image Credit: Aptera.
Nothing - and I really mean nothing - compares to the saga of the Aptera. This three-wheeled, solar-slurping teardrop has been "coming soon" for nineteen years. When this idea first popped into existence in 2007, we were all still playing with Blackberry phones and wondering if this "iPhone" thing would catch on. Yeah - exactly. It's been a long and winding road.
But something miraculous has finally happened. The hard-working crew in San Diego has finally shunted the first vehicle off a real, honest-to-goodness validation assembly line. It's not quite ready for you to buy and park on your driveway yet, but it's a massive leap forward. Aptera moved from hand-building these things in a shed to a structured 14-station assembly line. This really feels like watching a teenager finally move out of their parents' basement. It's emotional, a bit confusing, and you're still not entirely sure they won't be back for laundry money next week…
Image Credit: Aptera.
Now - the looks. It's shaped like a dolphin that's had a disagreement with a fighter jet. That's me being nice about it. It only has three wheels, which usually suggests someone ran out of budget halfway through, but here it's all about aerodynamics. The body is a cocktail of carbon fiber, Kevlar, and flax. Aye, the stuff they make linen trousers out of. It's a sandwich-core construction that's supposedly tougher than steel but lighter than a politician's promise.
The real party trick, though, is the solar panels. Aptera plastered them on the hood, the dash, the roof, and the hatch. The company claims this funky tree-wheeler can suck up enough Vitamin D from the sun to give you 40 miles of free driving every single day. If you live somewhere like Arizona, you could rake in 10,000 miles a year without ever touching a charging cable. For those of us used to the "sunny" skies of Scotland, where the sun is a myth told to frighten children, that sounds like pure sorcery.
Image Credit: Aptera.
Under that flaxen skin, the specs are actually quite juicy. When you aren't relying on the big orange ball in the sky, the onboard batteries can be topped up in under an hour to give you 400 miles of range. That's enough to get you from New York to somewhere much nicer. It's a lightweight, self-sufficient solution for a world that's increasingly obsessed with giant, heavy electric SUVs.
Of course, we've been here before. We saw the crowdfunding efforts that raised $135 million. We saw the 300-mile road trip across Route 66 last year, where Co-CEO Steve Fambro drove from Flagstaff to the Imperial Valley to prove it wouldn't fall apart. There are already 50,000 people who have slapped down their hard-earned cash, representing $1.7 billion in potential revenue. That's a lot of faith in a vehicle that looks like it belongs in a low-budget 1980s sci-fi shtick.
Image Credit: Aptera.
The very first units rolling off the new assembly line are destined for a life of misery: thermal validation, brake testing, and "destructive testing." Oh yes - Aptera will be smashing them into a wall to see what happens. It's all part of the boring but necessary dance for EPA and regulatory certification. Steve Fambro is chuffed to bits, naturally, saying these first builds are the key to finally getting the car into customers' hands.
Are we looking at a revolution? Or is it just the world's most aerodynamic paperweight? I want to believe, I really do. The idea of a car that fuels itself while you're inside eating a sandwich is brilliant. Quirky, bold, and finally, finally becoming real.
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Related article from Captain Electro on MSN:
Aptera Found $75 Million Down the Back of the Sofa. Is the Solar Car Actually Happening?
