Aptera, the Californian electric car maker that wants to revolutionize personal transportation with its three-wheeled solar vehicle, aims to start series production by the end of 2022. To make this happen, it’s trying to entice potential customers and investors with new developments and features.
In the latest video published on the company’s YouTube channel, two of Aptera’s employees show off the Gamma prototype’s improved headroom, legroom, and tech, compared to the previous Alpha and Beta models.
They say that the interior of the Gamma is 1% bigger in volume compared to the Alpha and Beta iterations, and that translates into more headroom and legroom. “I think 6’8” was probably the cap that we were able to fit comfortably in the Aptera,” the two continued, referring to the reveal event that happened in September of 2022 in San Diego when the company allowed potential customers to try out the interior of their three-wheeler.
The video also shows a short glimpse of the working center touchscreen, which will incorporate all the controls for the solar car – the gear selector, the buttons for the side windows, and even the on/off switches for the dome lights, which seems to overcomplicate things bit, but I guess it makes sense from a production standpoint.
Aptera’s solar electric vehicle is up for pre-order with a starting price of $25,900 for the base model which offers an estimated range of 250 miles on a single charge, solar panels on the roof and dash, and front-wheel drive. But if your bank account allows it, Aptera will happily sell you a three-wheeler that costs almost $51,000 — with a range of 1,000 miles, solar panels on the roof, dash, hood, and rear hatch, all-wheel drive, and custom colors for the exterior and interior.
9 Photos
The front-wheel drive model has an estimated 0-60 mph acceleration of 5.5 seconds, while total power is rated at 100 kW from its two in-wheel motors. The all-wheel drive variant adds 50 kW to the power output and slashes the 0-60 mph time to 3.5 seconds.
Aptera claims its EV won’t need charging from a dedicated external charger for daily use, with its solar panels providing up to 40 miles of range while stationary or during driving. But even so, the car will feature Tesla’s charging connector for those cloudy days.
What’s your opinion on the Aptera solar electric vehicle? Let us know in the comments.
