I've been looking forward to a solar car for 30 years. We had EV's and a network of charging stations in AD1900, so we are 120 years behind in development. If it wasn't for WWI we would now have EV's which were self powered for any distance per day. I think an amphibious Aptera would be cool! I also think we should be looking into hydrogen powered cars as batteries are still relying on capital resources and the mining and recycling of battery materials is severely deleterious to the environment. Perhaps Aptera could start researching a solar/hydrogen hybrid , with the solar PV electrolyzing water into HHO to burn in a closed cycle ceramic engine, with the exhaust steam going back through a steam electrolyzer acting like a turbo. Making hydrogen from water is only expensive if you have to separate, dry and transport the hydrogen - if it is produced just before combustion and left as a wet hydrogen/oxygen mix, it doesn't need to be stored or transported. You would still need some battery capacity though. All EV's should have a solar PV roof and hood, even if just to counter battery drain when parked. Elon Musk is missing a trick and is being silly to refuse to use solar on his cars. I have a 20W 12V solar panel on the dash of my gas guzzling Mercedes-Benz ML320 W163, mainly just for fun, but also to trickle charge the battery as I don't use it much (620 - 2000 miles a year). An Aptera would be a nicely complimentary vehicle, but the ML can fit in two cubic metres and 600kg inside and tow 3500kg. Still, it has CO2 emissions of 500g/mile though... I refuse to get an EV until it is solar by design! When I have my Aptera (with all wheel drive, full solar, and the off road package) I will just spend all my time aimlessly driving around southern Europe. I might hold out until they make one amphibious though.... Can't wait for the next phase of crowdfunding to open up! I'd be happy to make donations without any return!
