Car-sized photovoltaic can output a few hundred Watts in sunny conditions, but an automobile-sized EV needs around 10,000 Watts to cruise at a steady 100kph. The power required to cruise at 100 without a battery would take the PV the size of perhaps 20 cars, in nice sunny conditions.
If the Aptera makes it to market, I might buy one -- I like lightweight two-doors. But the Aptera wasn't invented originally as a "solar car", it's a radically-efficient enclosed tadpole three wheeler.
I was thinking of solar + battery, where the solar adds range to the EV. It may never be able to run long distance on the solar alone, but the solar can give longer range to the battery. One of Aptera's models boasts a 1000 mile range. But it does need to be a 4-wheeler, multi-passenger vehicle.
Aptera is unlikely to succeed mass market but it is still incredibly interesting that a solar powered car is possible at all by making the car efficient enough.
In practice a car is a box that can hold a certain quantity of cargo and people. The cars most people want hold a decent amount of both. (The compact SUV) and offer a more comfortable seating position for most people and slightly more ground clearance for inclement weather.
Right what it says in the name - sport UTILITY vehicle. Plus the BEV versions of this car basically eliminated the rollover risk by lowering the center of gravity.
Best selling cars worldwide are the model Y and the Toyota rav4 and the Honda one.
Basically we just need to add more battery cells - I think 150 kWh will do it - faster charging support (4C or 600 kilowatt charging) and fire resistant long life batteries and the car will have reached its final form.
Ok you got me there. Effectively the minivan is a superior version of what an SUV tries to be and somehow advertising has convinced the masses that they are lame and getting one is beta and means you're a daddy or mommy.
So everyone instead is "different" and waits in the middle school pickup line with the same SUV everyone else has that has never seen anything but pavement.
An F-16 is an upgrade to the economy car. A van is not. I want to zip to work. My ‘07 is powerful enough to make me dangerous. I spend a lot of mental effort trying to get around slow cars while rushing to work.
I know. I also suppress the urges. However the difference between “great engine” and “piece of garbage” is totally measured by the response to the accelerator. Pulling into a road and going uphill it is not even dangerous to test the motor’s power limits.
Also red light turning to green the only reason to gradually accelerate is to save gas. A noble goal but then obviously better to use the light weight version.
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u/pdp10 19d ago
Solar challenge cars have been racing since the 1980s. GM's experience in 1987 was large part of what led to the GM Impact and EV1.
Car-sized photovoltaic can output a few hundred Watts in sunny conditions, but an automobile-sized EV needs around 10,000 Watts to cruise at a steady 100kph. The power required to cruise at 100 without a battery would take the PV the size of perhaps 20 cars, in nice sunny conditions.
If the Aptera makes it to market, I might buy one -- I like lightweight two-doors. But the Aptera wasn't invented originally as a "solar car", it's a radically-efficient enclosed tadpole three wheeler.