“It’s a game-changer.” “It’s an environmental champion.” “This car will revolutionize the way we think about transportation.” We hear this kind of hopeful hype about a lot of vehicles—off hand, we can think of the Tesla Roadster, Chevrolet Volt, and Fisker Karma—and sometimes, it even rings true. But few pieces of fanciful transportation have seemed as far-fetched, at least at first glance, as the 2e, scheduled to be produced just six months from now by California-based Aptera Motors. We recently paid the company a visit to take a quick spin in two of its latest prototypes, and to see how close this wingless bird is to hatching.
Built in—Where Else?—California
A tour of the spotless Aptera facilities, located in Vista, California, gave us our first glimpse of where the first production models will be built, some 5000 per year, according to the company. The Aptera’s 300-lb composite body will be made off-site at a nearby factory, and an additional production facility is scheduled and will be capable of building another 20,000 or so Apteras once it comes online. At this early stage, most of the space in the production area was open, but several unpainted body shells were sprinkled about, as well as a few early prototypes, two of which we would be able to drive. One featured a near-production-spec interior, while the other was a mule on which Aptera was tweaking the suspension geometry and location of battery components.
Keep Reading: 2010 Aptera 2e - First Drive Review
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