Chrisholm Eagle

[Matthijs]

This Chrisholm Eagle looks a bit like the Aptera.

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I also found a nice pdf about composites with some cost analysis.

PDF (http://apteraforum.com/www.compositesaustralia.com.au/pdfs/ComAustMagazine%20Sept%2005.pdf)

[Apteratude]

Cool, although I never say anthing about safety, I kind of have a problem with this one due to it's low ride height. I did notice that it's got a .12cd. .01 higher than the Aptera. And, it's 220kg's. more than 3 times lighter. Of course it's smaller. If only we as a nation could wean ourselves off our mammoth sized vehicles. We can do better than the Aptera in that we can make it even smaller and lighter, but we do have to be careful with visibility issues, as well as where the impact would occur in a collision in one of these. For example, decaptitation in a rear end collision with a pickup truck! I dig it though.

[KarenRei]

Do remember that Aptera's weight isn't there for nothing. It's there for good range while still using long-lifespan batteries (sacrificing some energy density for durability), ultracapacitor buffering for efficient regenerative braking, a strong roll cage, high door crush strength, high roof crush strength, a good crumple/deflection zone, the creature comforts, a wide, stable stance and tires with good traction, enough size to be comfortable and carry your stuff, all the features it needs to be streetlegal, etc.

Yes, the Aptera could be lighter and retain all of these things, but it'd make it a lot more expensive. For example, they could swap the steel structural elements for titanium ones which would be just as strong but 2/3rds the weight. They could switch from fiberglass composites for the bulk of the skin to kevlar composites (2/3rds the weight), or even carbon fiber (2/3rds the weight and 50% stronger). They could use regular li-ion or li-poly batteries and accept the user having to change them out every few years. I bet they could retain all of its features and safety and cut it's weight 40-50%. But all of these kinds of things would make the car cease to be so affordable.

[swinti]

Repeating all the mistakes what guided many others to bankruptcy is not very clever.

[n_dawg]

Sure it has a higher Cd, but I'm sure it's far more aerodynamic than the Aptera.

I've always likes these hyper-efficient vehicles, even if they're not practical for commuting. It just goes to show that it doesn't take any energy to move things around. All energy 'required' to drive around is wasted (minus moving up and down, of course).