Aptera Typ-1 - The World's Most Fuel Efficient Car?

Aptera is a company founded by Steve Fambro in 2002 with the goal of producing a passenger vehicle that was safe, comfortable and more fuel efficient than any other vehicle ever produced.

After intensive studying, designing and constructing, Aptera produced their first prototype and achieved an astonishing 230 miles per gallon! And now, Aptera is taking reservations for your own Typ-1 with an MSRP of under $30,000!

The Typ-1 is compact and has 3 wheels and is therefore classified as a motorcycle. Despite its classification (and not to mention the publics perception of motorcycle safety) the Aptera Typ-1 is extremely safe. In fact, safety was a fundamental part of the design!

• The roof exceeds rollover strength requirements for passenger vehicles.


• The doors exceed strength requirements for passenger vehicles.


• The Typ-1 includes airbag-in-seatbelt technology used in newer light planes.


• The Typ-1 contains a front subframe and a firewall that redirects energy around the occupants.


• In addition to physical crash tests, crash testing software was used to simulate several possible conditions. The Typ-1 performed beautifully in virtually all scenarios.


• The Aptera Typ-1's safety cage is similar to the safety cages used in Formula 1 race cars.


• The large, LED turn indicators make it easy for other drivers to see you.

The Typ-1 works very much like hybrid cars on the roads today. It contains a very small and efficient gasoline engine. Coupled to the gasoline engine, there is an electric generator. The electric generator recharges batteries, which in turn power the electric motor that drives the wheels. Therefore, the gasoline engine only needs to run when the batteries are almost empty. How Stuff Works has a great article on how gasoline/electric hybrid cars work.

To achieve maximum fuel economy, you must charge the batteries each night. Aptera claims, though, that at the current cost of electricity in California, it costs less than $2 and less than 4 hours to charge. The small gasoline engine is used only when the batteries are low and occasionally when cruising at highway speeds.

The Typ-1 can maintain 300+ miles per gallon up to a distance of around 120 miles. The longer it is driven beyond 120 miles without charging the batteries, the less efficient it becomes. After 350-400 miles, it levels out at around 130 miles per gallon until it is charged again, which is still very impressive. If that's not enough though, the Typ-1 actually achieves better than 300 miles per gallon for short trips, less than 40-60 miles. For these trips, it will actually attain an unheard of efficiency of up to 1000 miles per gallon.

You might be surprised, actually. The Aptera Typ-1 has a very sleek and smooth design. Take a look for yourself!


Here you can see the 3 wheel design with 2 up front and 1 in the back. This was chosen over 2 rear wheels as it drastically reduces the tendency for the Typ-1 to roll over. Combine this with traction control, a low center of gravity and a wide wheel base, and it produces a very stable platform with excellent cornering capabilities. Also, notice that a front license plate is not required on the Typ-1 as it is classified as a motorcycle. You can also see the solar panel located on the roof. This will help power accessories such as the air conditioning.


You can clearly see the wing-like shape of the Typ-1's body. The Typ-1 also has oversize LED turn signals that help capture the attention of other drivers.


The doors open up instead of out. This allows the Typ-1 to park in smaller spots without the worry of hitting another car with your door.


Another example of the Typ-1's sleek design and projector HID headlamps.


A view of the inside of the Typ-1.


A view of the underside of the Typ-1. Aptera used monocoque construction to provide protection from debris that may hit the underside of the vehicle.


As you can clearly see, the Typ-1 is very spacious. It has room for 15 bags of groceries, 2 bags of golf clubs and even 2 surf boards.


You can see Aptera did not skip out on creature comforts in the Typ-1 either. This includes a rear view backup camera, navigation system, air conditioning and much more!

The average daily commute in America is about 40 miles. That equals 13,440 miles per year. Assuming the average fuel efficiency of all vehicles in America is 24.7 MPG, about 545 gallons of fuel are used per person each year. As of March 2008, gas prices are around $3.45 per gallon. This comes out to $1,880 spent on fuel by each person every year.

The Typ-1 gets about 300 MPG. In reality, this number would actually be much higher due to the short commute but we'll stick with the worst case scenario. Driving 13,440 miles per year, the Typ-1 will use about 45 gallons of fuel. This comes out to $155 spent on fuel by each person every year.

$1,880 - $155 = $1,725 saved on fuel each year!

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For a small $500 deposit, you can reserve your own Aptera Typ-1 today! Vehicles will be sold in a first come, first served basis. The deposit is fully refundable, though.

I'm ready to reserve mine!