Aptera - Tech Week Videos

[zkc]

TechZulu interviews CTO and founder Steve Fambro in 2 different videos. Don't know anytyhing about tech zulu, but the videos are interesting. New info I didn't know before:

1) the always glowing LED aptera logos on the outside of the car
2) Website is going to change substantially very soon (assumed but great to hear it for sure)
3) 4,000 pre-orders
4) doors open within the width of the wheels

Check them out and add any additional I didn't catch.

****autobloggreen.com/2008/11/25/is-aptera-considering-a-gasoline-only-2g-model/****

btw, i think the "2g" claim by the site is pretty off base.

[Matthijs]

I am putting the video's to youtube asap. But it was interesting to hear Steve talk about a 2g. I don't think it's a good idea for the Aptera brand as a whole if they would go ahead with it though. Here are the 3 video's:
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Link (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KBsUXiB_4rg)

Ok Steve asks if the interviewer has more questions........And I was crossing my fingers to hear.........How wide is it? But no luck.

[ApteraH@3535]

At 8 minutes into the first video, Steve says the production version - the 2e - has three times the power as their type 1. Is that an upgrade? all wheel drive? Or is the typ 1 underpowered relative to published specs?

[aptera1213]

thanks for the videos....

good to see...

hopefully more updates are coming soon...

[n_dawg]

Yeah, the 2g thing was just an off-handed comment – a "for example" – e.g. a '2n' nuclear powered Aptera.

Good to hear confirmation that the always-on climate control works like we expected – always running a fan, but running the heat pump when you turn it on.

What I was intrigued about was the computer system – it's the first time we've seen it boot up. They're using a VIA chipset, which isn't surprising given the low power requirements. Also, note that the rear-view cameras initialize before the dash-mounted computer boots, indicating that it's a separate system.

Caveat – note the dialog box in the left-most screen that pops up before the camera background. Is that a linux theme I see??

Curiouser and curiouser.

Our new production vehicle… is even better. It has three times the power, it sits a little lower to the ground [and it] looks more aggressive. It has a lot better features. But it's all composite, it's light-weight, it's the most efficient vehicle in the world, and we think it's really gonna get people excited about electric vehicles.

We're already excited, Steve.

EDIT: TechZulu's Efren Toscano says (http://www.autobloggreen.com/2008/11/25/is-aptera-considering-a-gasoline-only-2g-model/#c15780258) they're gonna do a company tour soon, which will show up here (http://www.techzulu.com/tag/Aptera.html)

[n_dawg]

Transcript:


Fambro: Uh, let me know when you want me to start.

Interviewer: Uhh, whenever you're ready.

Fambro: Can you hear me ok?

Interviewer: Yes.

Fambro: Uhh, why don't we start from the front?

So this is the Aptera 2e. This is, uh, our first product. It's an all-electric, two-passenger vehicle. It's, uh, completely highway capable like any normal car. It will do zero to sixty in about ten seconds, and, uh, it has a top speed of about eighty-five miles an hour.

One of the first things you notice are, maybe, the nostrils on the front nose. And that's where we intake the air to cool the motor, uh, and also to controol, uh, cool the motor controller to keep the systems at the normal operating temperature. You might also see that we don't have wheels inside the vehicle, we have them outside to reduce the total frontal area, and there are these little covers called 'wheel pants,' and that's what they used to do on old airplanes, uh, so we've-we've taken some airplane technology or ways of thinking to lower the drag of the vehicle. The wheel pants increase the efficiency of the vehicle by about ten percent, so tha–it is a real, measurable effect.

We have LED lighting throughout the whole vehicle, here on the wheel pant, the logos, the lights in the rear.

We have a piezoelectric touch switch, so you just barely touch and it opens the door.

This vehicle is fully functional, with air conditioning and a heater. The, um, you can see the side-by-side passenger seating is as much as it is in any typical smaller vehicle. It sits wider inside than a Mazda Miata, for example, so it has plenty of room. You can fold the passenger seat down and put in a longboard if you surf, or you can fit about four sets of golf clubs in there, or about fifteen bags of groceries, or five wakeboards and boots and gear. Now to–when you–when you get home at night and you want to plug it in, it's just a standard one-ten plug. and it would take three hours or so to top off if you've driven, you know, thirty to fifty miles, and if you've driven the full hundred and twenty miles it would take about eight to ten hours to charge up.

Um, we don't have side-view mirrors on this vehicle; we have these three cameras. In production they're replaced by one camera but they show you a hundred-and-eighty degree view behind you so you don't have to take your eyes off the road when you're driving to build good situational awareness.

When you're parked in the sun all day we have solar cells on the roof that run a special climate control system that keep the car cool–keeps the car cool–keeps it very close to ambient temperature, and we take that heat, uh, that we collect from the inside, uhh, with the fans powered by the solar cells, and we pipe it out the rear of the vehicle right here. The piping out the heat from these two vents, um, it keeps the cabin cool and it also lowers the drag of the vehicle a little bit. So as you're going down the highway the extra heat coming out the back of the vehicle lowers the drag.

Uh, one interesting thing is that when you're in a parking lot at night and you're looking for your Aptera, if you can't see it you'll always see the logos. They're LED lit and they glow twenty-four hours a day, even when the vehicle's parked for a very long time 'cause they use such little energy. So at night you see the green logos on the vehicle and you can always find your vehicle. So it's kind of useful when we go to the company and, uh, we're in the factory or–or the composite shop and the lights are off we can always see the car.

Um, the vehicle has an aggressive wide stance – that's to make it stable, and, uh, lot of people wonder, "well, what happens when I pull up next to a wall with these doors," but these doors open withinside the distance of the wheel. So it's, uh, very easy to park up next to walls and other objects and still get out of vehicle, whereas with a typical passenger car you would have to leave this much room out for the door to open.

Another nice thing about the three-wheel topology is that, at low speeds, sharp turns, it really pirouettes around, or about, the rear wheel. So we're able to make very sharp turns at low speeds to get in parking garages, to get around objects in parking garages, uh, that you wouldn't be able to do normally

If you look at the overall shape of the vehicle, you notice it's very slender. There's, uh, no significant rate of changes in the shape, and that's how we get such low drag. The low drag is what makes this vehicle get the equivalent of–of about two-hundred and fifty miles per gallon or so, and it's also what enables us to go a hundred and twenty miles on a charge of batteries that by comparative standards is very small.

Interviewer: What's the top speed?

Fambro: Around eighty-five miles an hour.

…

Any more questions?

Interviewer: No, that's about it!

<cut/ >

Fambo: We're gonna do the Aptera Shuffle, what we call…

Coolong: The Aptera Shuffle?

Fambro: You wanna, uh, sit your rear in the seat first…

Coolong: Ok.

Fambro: …with your legs out and then swing your legs in together. So, it's the most elegant way to get in.

Coolong: Ok.

Fambro: If you try and…

Coolong: So then sit first and then swing ma' legs.

Fambro: Yeah. Lemme show you.

Coolong: Ok.

Fambro: <demonstrates> Like that.

Coolong: That's easy! I can do that.

Fambro: A lot of people try to get in like a normal car…

Coolong: Right…

Fambro: …and it's–because of the shape of the door it is a bit different to get into. So this is the easiest way.

Coolong: Right. Ready?

Ooooooohhh!

Interviewer: And it never gets hot, even if it's sitting in the sun all day.

Coolong: <laughs> Air conditioning?

Fambro: Yes.

Interviewer: No, but even when it's just in the sun all day…

Coolong:Really?

[b]Interviewer:[/b …he said that there's solar panels that shoot the air out the back…

Coolong: Wow…

Interviewer: …–the hot air out the back.

Fambro: Right. It keeps–it will stay very close to ambient temperature, so if you park in the sun…

Coolong: yeah…

Fambro: … it will stay close to whatever the ambient temperature is…

Coolong: Wow…

Fambro: …it won't heat up.

Coolong: The seats, I mean everything about it is so sleek.

Fambro: Well wait 'til you see the production version.

Coolong: Wow…

[javan]

Thanks for getting the video info up here. I loved the "aptera shuffle" that Steve demonstrates, and both the info on the car, and on how he came to design it.

[Dubito]

Didn't realize Steve was using the Aptera as a daily driver. About 30 miles a day he says.

[aptera1213]

maybe he can move up and start driving a 2e instead of the typ-1

[esmith]

maybe he can move up and start driving a 2e instead of the typ-1

He can't, they don't have a 2e yet. Didn't you read the newsletter?

[Dubito]

Production starts next month, or did I miss something?

[mycomya]

I hope that disabling the lighted logos won't be too difficult... Isn't that feature a total creep magnet? IMHO, the vehicle is high profile enough as it is...

Especially when parked and I'm not around, I'm cool with it being ignored (yeah, I know, like that's going to happen- but still, it'd be more likely to happen without shining beacon lights saying, "here I am baby, come here, check me out, try the doors (any valuables inside?) and fondle me all over, yeah!!"

I'd be much happier seeing them produce a custom, lockable cover to drape over it for protection. They could plaster "Aptera 2e" all over the cover if they wanted extra name rec, that'd be alright...

I will want to pamper this wild thing; with this pampering, comes the time-honored sentiment of "keep yer hands-off, man!"

[jhm614]

Those videos are great! It will fantastic when these vehicles are on the road. I just hope Aperta can hold the line on prices (or qualify for a hefty tax rebate.)

j.

[esmith]

At 8 minutes into the first video, Steve says the production version - the 2e - has three times the power as their type 1. Is that an upgrade? all wheel drive? Or is the typ 1 underpowered relative to published specs?

This is a very good question.

The exact quote:

"our new production ... the vehicle that goes in production is even better, it has three times the power, it sits a little lower to the ground, looks more aggressive, has a lot better features"

Assuming that the mass stays the same, with three times the power, production 2e should be able to go 0-60 three times faster than the prototype. That would put 0-60 time below 3.3 seconds and make 2e Tesla's direct competitor.

Even if he is exaggerating or 2e is heavier than the prototype, we're likely looking at sports-car-like specs of 0-60 in 5 seconds or better.

Getting all that power to the ground with a single driving wheel equipped with a narrow low-rolling-resistance tire would be problematic. The rear tire on the prototype is 165 mm, if I remember correctly. The closest car in production today would be the Lotus Elise (curb weight 1980 lbs) and it has two driving wheels with 225 mm tires.

I can hypothesize that the motor that powers the rear wheel will stay the same, but they will also add two in-wheel motors of comparable power to front wheels, for acceleration and regen braking purposes, making 2e all-wheel-drive.

I wonder how it would affect pricing.

The other possibility is that by "power" he really means "capacity", in other words, the production vehicle will have three times the range (300+ miles).

[randyd]

My speculation is aligned with the FWD speculation: They have decided to use two motors and front wheel drive. The two electric motors have more combined torque than the single motor. This kind of change will make the 2e more ready for sales outside California.

[esmith]

My speculation is aligned with the FWD speculation: They have decided to use two motors and front wheel drive. The two electric motors have more combined torque than the single motor. This kind of change will make the 2e more ready for sales outside California.


If it is indeed capable of 0-60 in 5 seconds, FWD is unlikely, it has to be AWD.

[jstdadd]

Opinions are like mouths - everybody has one.

So here's mine: Steve is driving a Typ-1e prototype. It has a minimal battery pack - why not, he drives it about 30 miles a day? So, I assume that he has a prototype battery pack that gives him a 40 mile range. (If I were Steve, I'd be concerned more with getting my 40 mile range repeatedly after recharging every day - proving that we chose the right 'type' of battery.)

"It will have 3 times the power" gives the Aptera 2e 120 miles of range.

I (personally, not my "If I were Steve" persona) need 54 miles of range to get to work and back without recharging. If I have 120 miles of range (or even 100 miles of range, since I get up close to 80mph during part of my trip) then I am one happy camper, driving George Jetson's car around San Diego County every day. I only wish I could get the Aptera to make that sound (I have an mp3 on my cell phone, every time I receive a text message I hear the Jetson's car accelerating away from a stop.)

I am nerd enough to be happy with that. 85 mph and 100 miles of range should do me.

I've never been a hypermiler, and I'm not likely to become one any time soon. If I could do my whole commute at 85mph, I'd be good with that, too.

[Matthijs]

An older interview said this: "According to Fambro, the Typ-1 is capable of 80 mph and could travel up to 70 miles on a single charge while sustaining that speed"

[BryanSR]

Maybe Steve drives to work @ 100 MPH? :jumping0007:

[n_dawg]

Only if it's downhill both ways. ;)

With the new hotness 2e, it might be capable of higher top speeds. I doubt it though–Fambro restated its top speed at around 85 mph.

[BryanSR]

Don't forget HE IS the OWNER of the Company and IF HE WANTS A HOT ROD :aptera: , He GETS a HOT ROD :aptera: !!!!!!!!
At least THAT would be the way I would have it if it were in HIS SHOES.... :character0008: