My Fiat 500e daily driver is 64" wide, it's awesome in dense traffic on my daily commute. A 2020 F350 pickup is 80" wide, the dually version is 94" wide. The Aptera falls in the middle at 88" wide, a full 8" wider than a full sized pickup truck.
This concerns me 2 ways, in traffic it will be on you to defend your front wheel spats. Other drivers won't be able to see them when you are on their passenger side. They will see the body and think they are giving you plenty of room when they are inches away from your front wheels. I have a feeling it will be a much more tense morning commute in heavy traffic.
The other concern is other people parking next to your Aptera. If they are pulling in or leaving a space and you are parked on their passenger side they can't see your front wheels. Seems pretty easy for them to get hit in parking lots.
Maybe the solution is fender flags on the wheel spats?
Flags would hurt earo. Super Bright lighting over the coverings may be as good as it gets.
I’ve been thinking about this as well and agree that some type of LED lighting would probably be the best solution. There are a lot of portable battery operated LED lights available.
I am not sure how much more of an issue this will be compared to having mirrors that extend this far out on many vehicles. The tradeoff for better handling, stability and lower waste of energy to wind resistance is one that I am willing to make.
It's true that mirrors are the widest point on most every vehicle. But mirrors are always above the lower window sill on every vehicle i've ever been in. The Aptera front wheel spats are lower than most vehicles front fenders. They are certainly lower than the window sill on most any vehicle they will be next to. If you are on the passenger side of most any car and every truck, they can't see your front wheels at all. If they judge how close they are by the parts of the Aptera they can see, they will be way closer than you will like.
It will certainly be interesting to see how many wheel covers get damaged in the first few years.
Good conversations
I am retiring my Honda Ridgeline, a Midsize truck, which is only one inch wide narrower ( measured to outside of side mirrors)
It will be different!
I even reduced my garage workshop cabinets and worbench profile( depth) so I have more that the needed 6” swing for the opened. i. e., pass the front wheel pants (covers)
Remember the old Plymouth Prowler,which had vulnerable front wheels
One reason I want a white Aotera ( no snow here) as it is a brighter color.
I had suggested a low energy parking (traffic side) light like many German cars have for night visibility
There are low energy bike lights that are mounted behind the bike seat which delineate a safe boundry that might be useful for congested city use ?
I suppose an audible proximity alarm might help to “if it really is an issue?”
I only have cows to worry about by me😔
@Matthew Vaughn I hope it won't be that bad, but I will be sharing the driving with my wife, and she is not nearly as aware as I am where a cars bounderies are. I am afraid you may be right. At least I work in the marine industry and have some gelcoat and fiberglass repair experience and the materials at hand. If the wheel pants are also covered with vinyl wrap like I expect the body to be, I don't know if an invisible repair can easily be done. Interesting.
I have a concern about the wheel width. My garage is only 9' wide and I have to make a hard right turn from an alley into my garage. I expect to need some proximity sensors on the fenders (spats?) covering the wheels. Does anyone know the turning radius of the Aptera?