The Aptera is a two-seat, three-wheeled solar electric vehicle under development by the

crowd-funded Crowdfunding is the practice of funding a project or venture by raising money from a large number of people, typically via the internet. Crowdfunding is a form of crowdsourcing and Alternative Finance, alternative finance, to fund projects "withou ...

American car manufacturer Aptera Motors. The stated design goal of the car is to be the most energy efficient mass-produced vehicle ever. The design has an aerodynamic shape and uses lightweight

carbon fiber Carbon fiber-reinforced polymers (American English), carbon-fibre-reinforced polymers ( Commonwealth English), carbon-fiber-reinforced plastics, carbon-fiber reinforced-thermoplastic (CFRP, CRP, CFRTP), also known as carbon fiber, carbon comp ...

and

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composite materials A composite or composite material (also composition material) is a material which is produced from two or more constituent materials. These constituent materials have notably dissimilar chemical or physical properties and are merged to create a ...

, and built-in solar cells to extend its range by up to 40 miles a day. While several prototypes featured in-wheel motors, the production model is designed with a standard three-wheeler front-wheel drive axle.

Prototypes and production

The company planned delivering production units of the Aptera vehicle in 2021. Four stages of prototypes were planned, with the third stage of prototypes nearing the final production design, and the fourth representing a prototype that's identical to production vehicles. Aptera announced in June 2022 a detailed plan to scale in-wheel motor production in

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by Elaphe. Due to issues with getting the Aptera in-wheel motor design to production it was replaced in 2024 with a standard front-wheel drive axle design for the production model. Aptera announced in November 2022 a design change to bodies made of molded carbon fiber. In January 2023 the company announced a fund drive to raise $50 million for the "initial phases of production". The following month the company said it requires additional funds to produce and deliver vehicles to customers. Another prototype of the Aptera vehicle was shown at the January 2025

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(CES 2025). Company representatives said initial customer deliveries are anticipated by the end of 2025. The prototype shown at CES 2025 was "nearly" ready for production. The carbon-fiber and fiberglass panels of the vehicle were made with production tooling, however the diecast metal suspension arms and the injection-molded interior components were not. As of late April 2025, initial sales are planned for 2026 and full-scale production is planned for 2028.

Design and components

The Aptera's body shape is similar to earlier design exercises in efficiency, including the "Fusion" human-powered vehicle produced by the Pegasus Research Company in 1984, and the MIT Aztec Solar Car, which won multiple efficiency awards while racing in the American Tour de Sol in 1993. The Aptera has a claimed coefficient of drag that is very low, at 0.13 as of January 2023. The car was tested at an Italian wind tunnel, the results of which were described by co-CEO Chris Anthony as "pretty pictures". Aptera named Maxeon Solar Technologies as the solar cell provider for the vehicle in October 2022. In March 2023, Aptera announced its use of Comma.ai's Openpilot driver assistance system. As of September 2023, Aptera's partner C.P.C. has stamped the first of Aptera's Body in Carbon (BinC) parts from production tools at its Modena, Italy manufacturing facility. The 60 kWh battery version is expected to weigh about , much lighter than most electric vehicles. It has a NACS connector, and is able to charge at a rate of between 40 and 60 kW.

References

External links

* {{official website, https://aptera.us/vehicle All-wheel-drive vehicles Battery electric vehicles Electric vehicles introduced in the 21st century Cars introduced in 2019 Electric motorcycles Electric three-wheel vehicles Proposed vehicles Solar-powered vehicles Vehicles with wheel motors Open wheel cars