I might be a little simple, but I don't understand the rear wheel suspension. If the rear wheel goes up or the car moves down it will stretch the suspension, especially in a front-wheel drive Aptea. In an All-wheel drive Aptera you will need a powerful push from the rear wheel motor to compress the rear suspension for a comfortable drive. What do I miss?
Like Bojan I am also confused. With the motorcycle the weight of the motorcycle provides a static mean compression of the spring about which the load of the trailing arm moves. As shown in the Aptera suspension the weight of the body seems to be held by the tie rod meaning that the spring is not just under compression but actually loose.
Bojan, whether or not the wheel is powered does not affect the action of the suspension. It is a very common application, most commonly found on modern monoshock motorcycles, and works exactly the same way. The resistance is tuned by the spring, which can have a variable rate, depending on the amount of compression and how it is wound, and the shock can have variable damping. Whether they will be adjustable or will be supplied with optimum tuning from the factory remains to be seen.
Thanks for the reply. I can imagine that the monoshock suspension is working if the spring would be above the axis of the wheel and the joint with the car, that is actually what I see on the monoshock motorcycles. Here the spring is below that axis.
@Bojan Majdandzic The shock and spring work in both compression and extension. I would guess the orientation is designed to keep the weight as low as possible.
@n.bruce.nelson "whether or not the wheel is powered does not affect the action of the suspension." Actually, it does! That's a hub motor. And that increases the unsprung weight which causes all sorts of handling issues. I know this because I had a hub motor on my ebike. It's just bad! On a bump the rear wheel would spin for the moment it was in the air. All this because the extra weight would slow down the response of the suspension so it just didn't keep the tire on the ground quickly enough.
From what I can see, when the rear wheel is compressed, this design will compress the spring via the silver rods and spring keeper while simultaneously extending the shock. Putting it on the bottom opens up some storage space but will require keeping the shock main to avoid sticktion.
You are correct fitzbuy. This is a vey cleaver design to keep the weight low. Annotated image attached.