When drivers have not finished getting used to electric cars, solar ones have arrived. The idea of driving a model that recharges with sunlight could seem like something out of a science fiction movie, but Aptera wants to make it a reality this year with the first edition of its vehicle, of which it has already revealed a key fact. . The Aptera Launch Edition already has official autonomy and exceeds 600 kilometers.
As long as they have the necessary investment, Aptera plans to manufacture 5,000 units of this launch version which, aesthetically, is the same as the copies seen so far. The Aptera Launch Edition is an electric and solar car designed to boast of energy efficiency: not surprisingly, it ensures that, to circulate, it will only need a quarter of the energy required by electric and hybrid vehicles already on the market. And to achieve this, it has lightened weight and has opted for an aerodynamic design not suitable for all tastes that, yes, guarantees a coefficient of 0.13 Cx.
More than 600 kilometers on one charge
We knew this data, but Aptera had not provided the official range that the Aptera Launch Edition will have on a single charge: 644 kilometers. Its solar panels are also capable of generating up to 64 kilometers of daily autonomy thanks to the sun. The company points out that, every day, American drivers do, on average, less than those 64 kilometers, so they point out that it is possible to drive with it without connecting it to the network.
Of course, drivers can not always count on the sun and Aptera is aware of this. Which is why they’ve equipped the Aptera Launch Edition with a 110/120 volt outlet which, for every hour of charging, will provide more than 21 kilometers of autonomy. With a 240 V connection, the model can reach up to 92 kilometers of range in sixty minutes and also has the Tesla NACS system.
Aptera has not provided hard data on the performance of the Aptera Launch Edition, but its three motors will provide drive to all three wheels of the vehicle and allow this solar car to reach a top speed of 163 km/h going from 0 to 100 km/h in four seconds.
40,000 reservations
Aptera already said, at the time, that the price of its solar electric car will range from $25,900 to over $46,000 (23,800-42,350 euros, according to the current exchange rate). It is not yet clear how much this launch edition will cost, but, if all goes to plan, the first units will be delivered before the end of 2023. We could even see the Aptera Launch Edition in Europe in 2024.
The development of the vehicle is entering the fourth and final phase: at which time Aptera will carry out crash tests and validation. If all goes according to plan, the next step will be to scale production (there will be a single finisher to speed up this process) to shape 10,000 vehicles per year. Not in vain, they assure that they have more than 40,000 reservations. Subsequently, they will increase that rate to 20,000 copies per year and hope to have, by 2028, eight assembly plants spread throughout the world.