Solar powered cars are here! Almost! Maybe!

[bdunham7]

https://www.yahoo.com/news/aptera-three-wheeled-electric-car-175656985.html

[Simon]

Question is does it have a charge port? They are just copying sono motors but making more outlandish claims.

[wraper]

Might be true if left in sunlight in California. And you drive at such a low speed it manages to recharge itself for range claims. However it's a death capsule if you get into accident.
But: "25,900 to $46,900 depending on the model."
is crazy for such sort of "car".

[Simon]

someone definitely went out om a limb, or does not mind loosing several.

[bob91343]

Rabble rousing, typical performance of the woeful advertising industry.  How about some pictures of smiling faces and promises of limited time discounts?  Show pics of people whom you think would be interested in such problematic devices.  And add that you can save on insurance by not owning a car at all.

Such baloney.

[Cyberdragon]

Rabble rousing, typical performance of the woeful advertising industry.  How about some pictures of smiling faces and promises of limited time discounts?  Show pics of people whom you think would be interested in such problematic devices.  And add that you can save on insurance by not owning a car at all.

Such baloney.

Doubt you'd get to file for insureance, one fender bender in that can and you're probably dead.

[SiliconWizard]

Yet another useless device IMO. The kind that has very little practical use, will be way too expensive from that little use, and the only rationale of which is the increasing syndrom "we make it because we can" (and because it's trendy, and being green-trendy, because it has the potential of being subsidized, thus not actually requiring to be profitable).

Yes, with the available technology and the drop in costs (mostly due to using China as the world's factory), there's a whole lot of sh*t we can design. Does that mean that we should?

[Red Squirrel]

Solar panels on an EV make sense, but trying to claim it can replace having to charge it is bonkers.  I think trucks would benefit the most from solar panels as it can just be part of a toneau cover for example.  On a camping or work site situation it could put a bit of power into the battery and serve as a source of power for accessories.

[Simon]

For very short commutes in the summer I'm sure panels built into the bodywork make a difference but not on long distance. My commute is a 13 mile round trip. At 250Wh/m that would require let's say 3.5kWh. In the UK best case is about 200W/sqm of panel but on a car that is a flat roof so less. I spend 9.25 hours parked at work in sunlight. In the summer I would get a couple of hours at home too but that would not be much use so lets ignore that, so I need to generate 400Wh, that will require at least 2sqm if not 3 of roof, if my roof is 1.4m wide (total guess) it needs to be 2.2m long and that all needs to be panel. This is all best case scenario. At best I would recharge of the power I used getting to work for 3 months of the year, at best, but would still need to charge up with the power I use going home. But my use is typical. So many of my co-workers drive less than me to work.

[bdunham7]

Question is does it have a charge port?

 At 250Wh/m that would require let's say 3.5kWh.

Supposedly it has a Tesla charge port, but it isn't an actual product yet so that is really just a rumor at this point.

They claim 100Wh/m. 

[Simon]

It may be 100W/mile but there is proportionately less space for a panel so it's still not going to run on solar.

[v81]

I love this from the article itself...

Forty miles doesn’t sound like a lot, but it’s the equivalent of parking your car and having it magically fill up with two gallons of gas overnight

Sounds great... but how does a solar panel work overnight?

[Daixiwen]

Sounds great... but how does a solar panel work overnight?

We just need a few hundred million dollars to develop the new innovative and disruptive technology of lunar panels. there, problem solved!

[Cyberdragon]

Sounds great... but how does a solar panel work overnight?

We just need a few hundred million dollars to develop the new innovative and disruptive technology of lunar panels. there, problem solved!

[SiliconWizard]

It's coming: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-45910479
 

[cdev]

Solar powered cars are improving all the time. They look a bit strange, but they work surprisingly well in sunshine. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_car_racing


Not at all the same, but similar in spirit,
this technology works in space with few moving parts.

https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/tdm/solarsail/index.html

https://www.planetary.org/articles/what-is-solar-sailing

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_sail

[v81]

Solar powered cars are improving all the time.

As much as i am a fan of this (and formula E racing) the unfortunate reality check is that whilst solar cars strictly for the sake of competitive solar racing is pretty great, very little of what happens there can be transferred to an automobile that still maintains the required standards and compliance for use as a consumer automobile.

[NiHaoMike]

Doubt you'd get to file for insureance, one fender bender in that can and you're probably dead.

Still safer than a motorcycle, which is what it really is - an enclosed 3 wheel motorcycle that's a little safer than most motorcycles. But I agree it would be hard to sell at that price, maybe for niche markets like New York where parking is hard to find.

As much as i am a fan of this (and formula E racing) the unfortunate reality check is that whilst solar cars strictly for the sake of competitive solar racing is pretty great, very little of what happens there can be transferred to an automobile that still maintains the required standards and compliance for use as a consumer automobile.

If it only has 3 wheels, it would be a motorcycle with far relaxed safety rules.

[SiliconWizard]

Solar powered cars are improving all the time.

As much as i am a fan of this (and formula E racing) the unfortunate reality check is that whilst solar cars strictly for the sake of competitive solar racing is pretty great, very little of what happens there can be transferred to an automobile that still maintains the required standards and compliance for use as a consumer automobile.

Yes. Have you looked at those racing "cars"? Probably nothing you'd like to use in normal trafic on the road. (Although more modern and probably much more reliable, they remind me of the Sinclair C5, only with added solar panels. )

[nctnico]

Today I found something interesting. In the Netherlands you can get a tax cut if your EV has integrated solar panels with a power output of at least 1kW peak (starting this year).

[Domagoj T]

Just where do you put so many panels on a car?

[Daixiwen]

Well if it doesn't say that the panels actually need to generate the 1kW you can probably have them in your trunk, or under the seats.

[SiliconWizard]

Well if it doesn't say that the panels actually need to generate the 1kW you can probably have them in your trunk, or under the seats.

 

[Domagoj T]

Yeah, I suppose that depends on the phrasing of the law, but I read nctnico's post as "enough panels to actually produce >= 1kW at noon during a sunny summer day".
However, even if it's just "installed power", it's still a lot. Even with very good panels (200W/m²), it would be struggle to find 5m² of usable area on the outside of a car. Perhaps if the law allows for foldable/storable system, tilting roof and door panels, or a panel that extends over the windscreen and side windows when parked, you might squeeze out 1kW in perfect conditions. 

nctnico, would you mind checking out the regulation and translate wording? My Dutch is a bit rusty.

[nixxon]

In this video Sandy at Munro discusses the vehichle with the guys at Aptera https://youtu.be/4DhzkUnIh58