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View this photo Aptera 2
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View this photo Aptera 4
Attendees at last week's TED Conference (Technology-Entertainment-Design) in Long Beach were exposed to some of the brightest minds in the world, as well as introduced to a variety of new theories, research and life-changing projects,
One of the products creating a huge buzz at the Conference is the latest design of Vista, California – based Aptera Vehicles.
The Aptera 2e is a 1500 pound, three-wheeled, all-electric vehicle that converges the latest technologies into a very practical means of transportation.
The fiberglass shelled motorcycle (yes-the two front-wheeled drive/ one rear-wheel is classified as a motorcycle just like the similarly configured Can-Am Motorcycle), looks like a plane on wheels and has an amazingly low coefficient of drag at .15 – which adds to its energy efficiency.
The Aptera is virtually silent other than wheel and braking noise while it quickly accelerates off the line. Reported top speed is 95 mph. Despite its odd configuration, the Aptera 2e is surprisingly stable during high-speed turns. In speaking with the engineers, the car has been glued to the road with no loss of control at speeds of up to 65.
Aptera is accepting refundable deposits of $500 to join the impressive list who have already ordered an Aptera 2e which are projected to begin delivery in late 2009. The company is currently projecting that the Aptera will be priced between $25,000 and $40,000.
Federal legislation to expand the number and types of federal electric vehicles for the $4,000 federal tax credit is being considered in Congress. http://www.reuters.com/article/pressRelease/idUS130972+04-Feb-2009+MW20090204. Also see the February 15th blog for the 2009 federal Stimulus vehicle tax deduction.
http://www.aptera.com/ Check out Aptera
http://www.ted.com/index.php/pages/view/id/5 Check out TED
