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Aptera 2e Information and Videos
Hi all – Please share your links and Aptera 2e information here so we can refer to it if needed.
Also, was any snow testing done on the 2e/2g/2d?
Customer test drives:
Handling
Dirt road
Strength testing
Destruction – Drop from forklift:
Destruction – Smashed between forklift and wall
Tuft testing
X prize
Moose test
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M8Z3sNBkjR0
Decel test
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j04HOBz7zsc
Jay leno
- This discussion was modified 1 year, 8 months ago by
Gabriel Kemeny. - This discussion was modified 1 year, 6 months ago by
bbelcamino.
- This discussion was modified 1 year, 8 months ago by
- 28 Replies
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Aptera 2e Information and Videos
updated 6 months, 1 week ago 18 Members · 28 Replies -
Just about 10 years ago…
December 2, 2011
After years of focused effort to bring our products to the market, Aptera Motors is closing its doors, effective today. This is a difficult time for everyone connected with our company because we have never been closer to realizing our vision. Unfortunately, though, we are out of resources.
It is especially disappointing since we were so close…
Aptera executives had been engaged in exhaustive due diligence with the Department of Energy (DOE) pertaining to an ATVM (Advance Technology Vehicle Manufacturing) loan. Our business plan was examined from top to bottom by internal agency representatives, independent consultants and experts in academia. They did an amazing job of vetting us and they tested every possible weakness in our plan. And after nearly two years of discussions, we had recently received a Conditional Commitment Letter for a $150 million loan.
The ATVM loan would have provided funding for the development and commercialization of a five-passenger, midsized sedan (similar to a Toyota Camry) that would be base priced at less than $30,000 and deliver more than a 190 mile per gallon equivalent. The concept of this vehicle had been in place since the very beginning of Aptera, and we had been wholly focused on its development for the last year. The last remaining hurdle was finding new funds to match the DOE loan.
We were so optimistic that the company would move forward that we were in discussions to reactivate a mothballed automotive plant in Moraine, Ohio. In the past months we had engaged with the labor union that operated that facility to discuss the hiring of 1,400 new job opportunities. These jobs would have reactivated talented workers who had been dismissed when the facility was closed.
During the same time, we continued development of our patent-pending composite manufacturing system that enables energy efficient vehicle production by drastically reducing vehicle weight (by as much as 30%) while tripling its strength. This same patent pending system allowed us to finish the surface of our composites without manual finishing and without the high capital cost of a typical automotive paint shop. In all, the process would save nearly $750-million versus a typical volume auto assembly plant start-up.
We were well on the way to satisfying the vision of efficiency on which the company was founded and we are confident that with time and capital we could still achieve our goal. The Aptera formula: aerodynamics plus light weight design (through composites) delivered efficiency of 206 EPA miles per gallon in tests at Argonne National Labs. That wasn’t a simulation; it was real measured performance. Despite that promise of efficiency, this challenged market – specifically large private investors – did not have an appetite to lead an investment for the perceived low volume return of our three-wheeled vehicle. So we reprioritized our product plan to four-door sedans, which also cost us time.
We remain confident, even as this chapter closes, that Aptera has contributed tech new technologies to build a future for more efficient driving. Through the dedicated staff at Aptera, our board and suppliers we have touched this future. All that remains is for someone to grab it. We still believe it will happen.
Paul Wilbur
President and CEO
Aptera Motors -
Thank you for compiling all of this Peter. I had watched both the Jay Leno videos and it’s amazing how solid the 2e looks compared to the latest alpha- especially the wheel covers! Hopefully, the final vehicle will look more like the 2e.
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What is past should stay in the past. no need to resurrect this memory.
Fresh start now. Lets focus in a positive way on this remarkable vehicle and the remarkable achievements of this management team the the remarkable future ahead for Aptera
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Personally, I appreciate the sharing of this info. While I know enough of the Aptera past it was nice to review where they were at back in 2011. Back then, I was not following them at all. We certainly can share past info while still maintaining a positive attitude for the present and future of Aptera.
Paul
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I believe we know what the final vehicle will look like. Certainly mostly like the Alphas with engineering updates already identified. (Wheel skirts, power electric steering etc,)
I certainly want the recently engineered version with its Tech, range options, and performance.
Comparing the 2e to the current version is like comparing a horse and buggy to a Ferrari (Excuse the ICE reference)
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Agreed, I was referring to the overall build quality of the earlier model. If they could build it then, they can build it even better now!
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Thanks for this, took me weeks to see footage of the 2e looking around, etc. Hopefully will have something like this for the new one cheers!
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Found more:
Some destruction:
8000 lb forklift ramming body into a wall:
Dyno testing
Xprize
Hard stop
Moose test head on view
Sledgehammer test
Driving in a city
Factory tour
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Just to be clear, this is not testing for the current version of Aptera and does not represent a formal testing approach or the safety testing that will produce safety testing dat submitted to the government for certification.
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I am in the camp that says remembering history is always useful. Now, from the limited amount I have learned in the six months or so that I reserved and have been following Aptera, what seems different this time than a decade ago:
– The three-wheel was abandoned in favor of a more expensive-to-produce four-wheel because “the market” seemed to demand it. That delayed possible launch. The delay proved fatal.
– Financing. The company does not seem to be depending on government or large investor monies, perhaps in part because the three-wheel product is a more limited project. No need for an abandoned auto factory and a thousand workers, nor the $150,000 government loan. Crowd funding, plus some private investors, seems to be enough for launch. Hopefully.
– Tesla has created a market for electric cars. In my case, I can see the three-wheel as a second EV, having broken the ICE-to-EV barrier with a Model Y.
– That market is also bringing with it batteries and other EV-specific inputs that Aptera, and other designers, can use.
– Finally, the Aptera management does remember history and can be expected to avoid past pitfalls. I am a big believer in the wisdom of scars and gray hair, as long as the causes are avoided this time around.
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One’s past &/or mistakes are not to be forgotten but learned from, and as such, remembered; even shared.
QUESTION: How do you not make errors &/or mistakes in business or in LIFE?
ANSWER: Consider oneself perfect (“Narcissistally DILLUSIONAL”) & an all knowing superior being or creature; do nothing innovative &/or of consequence whilst avoiding all risk in the process. The special, the chosen you (or few) & B.S.?
Take credit for all others successes and deny any/all blame (a.k.a. relevant knowledge) whilst being flawless &/or clueless. I call it DUHNIAL.
A little vulnerability & humility is good for the soul and for growth.
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Interesting video…discusses some of the same things we are questioning now.
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This was discovered and posted by the Aptera Owners Club (AOC) a few days ago. Some interesting comments were posted in response. The original Aptera was ahead of its time as well. Would have ordered one if they had gone to production. The AOC Discord Channel has some great discussions as well.
- This reply was modified 1 year, 4 months ago by
Jonah Jorgenson. Reason: update content - This reply was modified 1 year, 4 months ago by
Gabriel Kemeny.
- This reply was modified 1 year, 4 months ago by
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I didn’t see this in the list of videos above -Steve providing some info during a drive:
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Hmmmm no split side window………
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The current version of the Aptera is noticeably more aerodynamic than the original version, thanks to that sort of change.
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The early prototypes didn’t have split windows because they were fixed in place – didn’t open at all. While I would be okay with that, many people complained, thus they added the roll down section. Unfortunately, due to the curvature of the side of the vehicle it is not practical to roll the entire window down into the door.
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Aptera Owner’s Club posted pictures from a recently unearthed Aptera version 1.0 Flikr account.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6uMNChDsZWc
It’s worth a look for a peek at the original Aptera design concept that participated in the XPrize competition back in the day. I include a non-CGI age regression of the Aptera founders from the video.
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Just finished watching it over on YouTube. I wonder what happened to all those prototypes they built back then?
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Destroyed by the people who pushed out Steve & Chris, Chris was pretty upset about it
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Sad that none of those survived, but Chris and Steve created an even better version!
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While on a random YouTube playlist, I spotted this familiar vehicle in the background. A pop video from 2008!
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Her song says it all…”I need you now!”
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😄
Ha ha! Well said
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Would have loved to see the indian driving away in the Aptera with a big smile on his face, like he made a good trade.😁
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🤣
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👍
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Just out of curiosity, what happened to Paul Wilbur after he tanked the first iteration of Aptera?
