While San Carlos, Calif.-based Tesla Motors gets plenty of attention for its much-hyped Roadster, it’s only one of a group of California startups aiming to commercialize electric cars. Idealab-backed Aptera, which is based out of Carlsbad, officially unveiled its new Typ-1 design today, with a scheduled 2008 shipping date.
Where Tesla decided to go with a standard-looking car, however, Aptera has chosen a rather unconventional design. Like the Zap Xebra, the Typ-1 is a three-wheeled car — in this case, two front wheels and one back. (See full-sized picture below.)
The company says its futuristic design is “extremely safe,” but the car’s rather bizarre appearance does raise some serious questions. First, how many people will want to buy this two-seat three-wheeler for $30K? Second, how will it ever get regulatory approval for the mass market.
Starting with the easier question — the second one — Aptera is a registered motorcycle manufacturer. Like Volkswagen’s similar but never launched GX3, the two-seat vehicle would qualify as a motorcycle for registration purposes.
Aptera appears to have paid some attention to the history of VW’s cancellation of the GX3. In that case, the company’s internal lawyers had the product scrapped, citing liability concerns. The GX3 was open-topped, and the exposed driver, they said, would be too likely to be injured.
Aptera’s design is fully-enclosed with reinforced roof and doors, protecting passengers in the event of a roll-over. It has a crash-tested front end with airbags for frontal collisions.
Assuming Aptera makes it past the concerns of lawyers and government officials, it still needs to convince consumers. Three-wheeled vehicles sound like a concept from 1950s science fiction, and the car’s odd body design, in our view, harks back to the same lost era. To a consumer base that’s been buying four-wheeled vehicles for several decades now, the idea of a three-wheeled car will seem outlandish.
And that’s just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Aptera’s challenges. Commercializing any electric or hybrid car comes with its own set of issues. For a more in-depth commentary on the market, including pricing and branding, read VentureBeat posts on the thoughts of Darryl Siry and Vinod Khosla.
Of course, we could be wrong in being skeptical. At its price, the Aptera is a steal, compared to Tesla’s $100,000 Roadster. And Aptera says it already has 400 pre-orders, without having done any advertising to this point.
Aptera’s Typ-1 will come in two models: the $26,900 all-electric Typ-1e, with a range of 120 miles, and the $29,900 Typ-1h, a hybrid gas/electric vehicle the company says will travel 600 miles. The company hasn’t announced a firm delivery date yet for 2008 but is accepting deposits on vehicles.
24 Comments
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Sam said:
Thats one sweet uhm motorcycle?
Though, technically how would you take your motorcycle license test with that thing?
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Joe said:
George Jetson has arrived! hahahah these folks need a marketing genius to make a design like that appeal to the mass market.
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Wayne said:
If it’s a motorcycle, does it qualify for HOV?
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java JUG said:
3 wheeled cars never caught on for a reason, their unstable in high speed turns.
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Dataland said:
Aptera has released an update on it’s upcoming 300 Mpg car. This car really approaches transportation from a very different vantage than does the rest of the auto industry. This car is slated to sell for $30,000 USD, and offers room for two. Here is a brief overview on the update …
Talkback: http://dataland.wordpress.com/2007/12/17/apteras-sub-30k-300-mpg-car-will-be-here-in-2009/
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Anthony Kuhn said:
What a great idea! I think when gasoline hits the 8 bucks a gallon mark, people won’t care too much about the Aptera having only 3, and not 4 wheels. The car will then sell itself. I would imagine they have engineered out a lot of the instability mentioned by Java Jug. Anyhow, SUVs were terribly unstable in high-speed turns and that didn’t stop Ford from producing millions of them!
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george said:
maybe its a step away from a flying car.
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Michael Crumpton said:
I would buy it in a minute if they sold them in Florida. For now they are CA only. Go to their website and youtube to see info about stability and safety. It is very impressive. My skepticism is all about can they deliver them for that price.
This is the kind of car that I thought we would all be driving in the 21st century.
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luizoliveira said:
I´m from Brasil and I think it´s the time to not just look in appearance, but to look in our planet. Maybe it´s time to change.
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steve poppitz said:
are there any available to test drive in Colorado?
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Mark Evans said:
With gas now over $4/gallon in Southern California and continuing to rise I don’t care what the thing looks like. I’m on their waiting list.
Their website answers some of the questions above:
It does qualify for the HOV lanes, but you don’t need a motorcycle license, since it’s inclosed -
enovy said:
I like the look. It seems kind of scifi to me. 30K seems like a lot though. They should use the same marketing strategy SUVs used. Those are the stupidest cars I have ever seen and yet they are quite popular.
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Phoghat said:
Re JavaJug’s comment: The Morgan 3 wheeler was racing long before you were a gleam in someone’s eye. I’ve plunked down a deposit on the hybrid, and I’m wondering if I can do some hacks.
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Ali said:
I would buy it in a minute flat if I had the money and if I new where to buy them…Not to mention if I was old enough to drive…well had my liscense, me only being 16.
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Hilda said:
Ugly becomes beautiful when it sames money. Time to say “good-bye” to the gasoline powered vehicles.
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Chance said:
i would buy one if they were sold in my state. right now its only sold in california but its a relatively cheap vehicle and a very good idea. the reason for the california only sales thing is that the company is seeing if it works out and also california is the only place that you can insure one, these are only a few examples of obsticles that they are having to overcome. ive been looking into them now for quite awhile. just waiting for them to be sold in different states.
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Randy Riley said:
I have a motorcycle licence and would buy one in a minute if they could be registered in new york state.
When I road a motorcycle I had no protection & I had no problems with keeping the bike under control. If people would use a little more common sense there wouldn’t be so many laws.
So get it out there and lets stop some of this pollution.
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Bob Haupt said:
I want one. With that said, I have to be realistic about the fact that I live in Utah and it’s been known to snow here from time to time. The company hasn’t done any testing in cold weather situations so it’s anybody’s guess as to how it would behave on snow packed or icy roads.
So I’ll be patient and see if they succeed in the California market.
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John Wiesner said:
“What goes around…comes around”. Look at the 1957 BMW Isetta for a production 3 wheeler that took limited hp and put it to full use. It only makes sense to use the same idea…50 years later … and take full advantage of the existing technology .NOW! I commute 100 miles a day. I’m ready!
PS…Don’t worry about snow…strap some skiis on the front wheels and it will double as a snow mobile! -
micheal smith said:
just figure out away to insure and ill travel to buy it
and i like the snow mobile ideal i think it will indeed work even if i have to manufacture my own -
Andy said:
Not retro. It’s just an airplane without wings. See http://www.cirrusdesign.com/sr22/
But airplanes aren’t designed for front and side impact. Maybe it’s safer than a motorcycle, but that’s not a very high bar to clear.
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Jack Draper said:
I purchased (Put $500 down-refundable) the Aptera-$30,000 plug-in hybrid. Reasons:
1) 3rd car to do most all of my driving in CA (San Diego). I expect to get almost unlimited mileage as my daily use is 50-75 miles and my 3 car garage has a 110V outlet.
2) I am a retired Airline Captain / Navy Pilot and love the the futuristic looks, the cockpit layout, and the range /speed.
3) Qualifies for the HOV lanes in CA. (However, as of now, it does not qualify for any credits or rebates from CA).
4) The oil producers and speculators can go stuff it. -
Arianna said:
Wish this was available in Louisiana. Could join the other crazy vehicles and persons driving around here. Would buy it in a second!
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dan said:
I want one :-) but it will cost me too get it to sweden
just love the shape of it.
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