Green Machine: The Aptera 2e three wheeled electric car

Okay, I’ve done some other articles in the past about electric cars,
but I think that I’ve come across one that is truly unique and affordable.
I know we recently talked about the Fisker Karma that is indeed a very
cool car but a bit on the pricey side.

It looks like we now are going to have an electric car available that will
be selling in the range of $25,000 to $40,000 which is pretty much the
same range that most cars are selling today.

We’re talking about the Aptera 2e brought to us by Aptera Motors.
The first thing you notice about this car when you see it is that it really
doesn’t look like a car. It looks like well, kind of like an egg, or a bee,
or a spaceship. It definitely looks different with its three wheels. Actually
the Aptera looks like it came right out of a wind tunnel. Aerodynamics
is what the designers were really concentrating on when this car was
designed. It is said that 50% of an average car’s energy is used pushing
air out of the way at an average of 55 mph so that’s why the Aptera has
a drag coefficient of just 0.15.

The next thing the designers addressed is the weight of the vehicle.
Weight is another big factor when it comes to a car/s performance and
Mileage. So obviously, the lighter the car the faster and farther it will
go. The Aptera 2e weighs in around 1700 lbs. - that’s pretty light!

So, some of the Aptera’s stats are that it’s an all electric vehicle that
fully recharges overnight from a standard 110-volt outlet. It will have
a range of about 100 miles that is way more than the average driver
travels on a daily basis. Performance is pretty decent at 0 – 60 mph in
under 10 seconds and it has a top speed of about 90 mph.

It seats two people and has plenty of head and legroom. The seat
covering is a fabric made from recycled material, so the Aptera continues
its “green personality” inside the vehicle. One very unique feature of this
vehicle is the solar assisted climate control system. Yep, that’s right! It
has solar panels on the roof that help keep the car cool in the summer and
warm in the winter. Also, it has an extremely large cargo area behind the
seats, enough room to carry about 15 bags of groceries.

So, this is all fine, but this is probably just another fly by night car idea
that will never make it to actual production.. WRONG! It has a production
release date projected for October 2009. The company has an extremely
sound business model and as of now, they have taken almost 4000 deposits
for this car including the deposit of actor/comedian Robin Williams.

I can’t wait for October to get here. I want one of these! What do you think?

Kyle Busch is the author of “Drive the Best for the Price…” He
welcomes your comments or car questions at his auto web site:                                                            www.DriveTheBestBook.com.