The Aptera of the 80s

[n_dawg]

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~100 mpg, two-seat, aerospace design. All this when gas was around $1.35/gallon

BTW, amazing music

[MegaAutoBit]

Wow, the similarities are uncanny. I only hope the Aptera is more successful. Great Find

[c0mp13x]

Thanks n_dawg, ~360 were made in the '80s, more info on the Litestar Pulse:

Registry and owner's club (165 of the 360 made) (http://www.autocycles.org/)

Pulse owner #199 (http://www.eagle-i.us/pulse/)

eBay Listing (http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Other-Makes-Pulse-litestar-Honda-Goldwing-1988-Pulse-jet-motorcycle-micro-car-custom-rod_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ6719QQihZ017QQitemZ 270226007303QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWDVW)

eBay Listing 2 (http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Custom-Built-Motorcycles-Pulse-285-1985-Pulse-285_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ10062QQihZ003QQitem Z130205557214QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWDVW)

:D

[Blur]

There's a good reason why the lady in the video felt like she was getting into a cockpit of a plane. The man in the beginning of the vid is Jim Bede, designer of the BD-5 homebuilt airplane from the late 60's early 70's.

Jim Bede and the BD-5 have a very checkered past. After building a successful prototype Mr. Bede showcased his new design by taking it to aviation shows around the country. The plane also received a lot of magazine coverage, I remember reading about it in an issue of Popular Science as a kid. The problem was that Mr. Bede took deposits from customers (about $9 million worth!) and used it for further research and developement. A huge legal mess ensued and the plane never made it to market in the numbers promised.

Notice the similarity between the body of the Litestar and the fuselage of the BD-5. As a point of interest, a few of the BD-5 that do exist were retrofitted with small, jet engines and redesignated as BD-5J's, the most famous one being the Coors Light "Silver Bullet".

[admin]

Here is another link thats interesting:

http://www.autocycles.org/