Zaptera

[G-Jet]

Is it even possible aptera usa and Jonway can afford the ferrari mirrors used on the S01???
G

[Grendal]

Not Ferrari mirrors - mickey mouse mirrors.

[Zafur]

Holybleep. As much as I wish that it would be the PP series any Aptera is a miracle at this point... If they're gonna keep the Fatso model, at least fix those wheel skirts. They've bothered me more than the actual body changes because of how unnecessary it was to make them blunt.

[Adreitz]

They're not blunt. They just moved the leading point from the center to the inside edge to prevent the skirts from compressing air between them and the body. This was to improve the Cd, since they had to increase the cross-sectional area slightly when they did the changes for increased headroom, etc.

Aaron

[PatQ562]

The "bluntness" may refer to the flat outer surface, which clashes badly with the otherwise curvy body. The flat was probably used to minimize width by a precious inch or two, although a gently curved surface would look much better. The underlying problem is excessively wide tires, required due to weight creep and the general attitude that "this is what real cars use". A second problem is excessively wide front track, required to improve stability as the weight moved toward the back. Parts of the shape are clever such as the offset trailing edge to allow more turning angle.

Just imagine if Team A had brought the project up to the PP6 era (weight pushing 1800 lbs, various minor problems and complaints), and the "Team B" hired guns were from somebody like Lotus who saw the possibilities and actually used real-car experience to engineer OUT weight and frontal area instead of larding it on.

Oh Well.

Pat Q

[SEGsby]

"Lardtera"... *sighs*

[Adreitz]

About the front track, keep in mind that the earlier prototypes were even wider. I don't recall ever hearing of a prototype that was narrower than the SO-1. Let me know if you have some info on that.

Aaron

[Ken Fry]

Originally Posted by PatQ562

Just imagine if Team A had brought the project up to the PP6 era (weight pushing 1800 lbs, various minor problems and complaints), and the "Team B" hired guns were from somebody like Lotus who saw the possibilities and actually used real-car experience to engineer OUT weight and frontal area instead of larding it on.
Pat Q

Speaking of Team B, this was from the North Bay Journal:

That pre-order reservation figure was about 5,000 at one point, before the Aptera Motors started offering refunds as the production schedule stretched longer, according to former Aptera Chief Marketing Officer Marques McCammon. His San Diego-based marketing and public relations firm, Nstig8, is in discussions with Aptera USA about managing marketing of the vehicle.

“I’m happy Aptera was able to be sold to a new group of investors who are able to take the business forward,” Mr. McCammon said.

[Ken Fry]

Apparently, the Zaptera name was short-lived. Now it is back to Aptera: Aptera USA. Seems someone realized that Zap does not have a sterling rep.

[Grendal]

I like how the forum was mentioned in the article. Which could mean that the guy running the new company has read some of our posts or the article writer is someone who actually does research.