I asked info@aptera several questions about safety systems, horse power, ability to test drive the car before finalizing purchase and have not got an answer back which isn't good. Does anyone know what safety systems are in the car? I am thinking of lane centering assist, adaptive cruse control, collision mitigation brake, stability system, etc..
Does anyone know what is the horse power?
Does anyone know when can you actually test drive a car if you put down a deposit?
What I have seen or heard , If it helps...
Safety
Air bags,
Shell should be a roll cage but the new Aptera has to be crash tested, which they plan to test to a car test std!.
Anti Lock brakes.
Torque vectoring
Stability control
You know about its dent proof composite shell.
AWD offered
There are FWD and AWD so info may vary.
Their co-pilot/ auto-pilot is mentioned on www.aptera.us and in www.wefunder.com/aptera
On the order form it is called Safety Pilot ,which is a Level 2 or maybe 2.5 level and not completely autonomous/ hands-free.
With the in wheel motors... 2 wheel FWD 100 kW and 3 wheel AWD 150
Otherwise there are hundreds of answers in social media and directy from Aptera Only in the Wefunder site under Ask a Questions ( not searchable on that site
But Daniel did this Word copy of old answers:
https://dfon51l7zffjj.cloudfront.net/uploads/company_attachment/file/51975-bwe45xy9axIVOuR2TcC7FPGT/Wefunder_Investor_Presentation_v2.pdf
It seems they are slowly brining over the answers to just the most frequently asked stuff to their website’s FAQ spot.
Of course the Forum has searchable words too
Lots of stuff to go through though...because some do not search so volumes of same questions😔
So enjoy the read!
Deposit is refundable
They say you can change until you commit???
Thank. This is really helpful.
Also there is a Reddit forum at r/Apteramotors that has much of the press coverage and where questions can be asked.
The 100kW model is about 134 horse power but note that since Aptera is SO light & aerodynamic, it still does zero-to-60 in about 5.5 seconds (note that over half of that run is over 30mph where air drag starts to really kick in). 150kW is about 201HP.
From their pdf at Download Specs (filesusr.com) : "Aptera will be tested to exceed all applicable FMVSS and NHTSA standards"
From their FAQ at Is Aptera safe? : "We will not know Aptera's actual rating until we pass a production vehicle through the full safety test. But we are designing to exceed all passenger car standards and the previous version had the highest roof crush strength of all passenger cars on the road, and it performed exceedingly well in actual side and frontal crash tests. Aptera features a Formula One-inspired safety cell with advanced composites and metal structures for impact strength. Similar to aerospace and racing, these energy-absorbing methods are a core part of our safety strategy and have proven effective time and time again in high speed impacts. Aptera also makes use of today’s best forward and side airbag systems in case of an accident."
Thanks. This is very helpful. On the safety issue, I was looking to see what driver assistant technologies they have such as collision mitigation, lane keeping assist, etc...
It did seem like you probably meant active safety. That was already answered as well as may be possible at this point. In the absence of concrete details there so far, it's nice to know the passive systems are definitely good.
I forgot to point out that the 201HP model's zero-60 spec is 3.5 sec, beating a 707HP Dodge Demon Hellcat.
Ok. Thank you. Those are great numbers on acceleration numbers. Good for getting into freeway.
Getting into the freeway I often have to back off the accelerator even in my electric Fiat, at 2952Lb & "only" 111HP. The lowest-power Aptera has more power than that, & I believe even the heaviest one is still lighter than my Fiat! (can't find its weight specs right now)
No kidding. Our Spark EV is 2800lb, 140hp and it gets unruly if you stomp on it at 30-40mph, or just outright breaks one or both front tires loose... and I run super sport tires on it. I can't even imagine how a vehicle with 60 more hp and half a ton less weight would drive.
And with the active traction control there are no worries about breaking the tires loose, even on slick surfaces.
@kiteboarder Fiat 500e weight 2980 lbs. - about 400 lbs. more than the ICE version.
I have always been reading 1800 2200 lbs, but like everything, until we get to production it is hard to say.
Would be cool to compare the Aptera with other cars in the same power to weight ratio. 😄
Yes, but my point is that for its weight it has PLENTY of horsepower, so that's not an issue. Basically it's in the performance range of a Tesla or a VERY hot gas car.
I wonder if that will jack up the insurance price.
It will be in the motorcycle class, at least in the beginning, but relatively quickly will depend on the safety record of the particular model.
I've seen engine displacement & top speed as variables in insurance price, but I haven't yet seen acceleration as a factor.
I thought there was some sort of horsepower to weight ratio that was used. I've never owned a sports car though, so I've never been too concerned.